Learn how to store onions for a long time at home
Onion is one of the most used items in cooking; For this reason, they are sometimes purchased in bulk. Knowing how to store onions at home can extend their shelf life. There are different ways to store onions for a longer period that we will teach you in this article.
Onion is one of the staples in every kitchen and it can almost be said that it can play an active role in most of the local and foreign dishes due to its flavor and properties. On the other hand, it has many useful properties. Learning how to store onions will help us keep them healthy and used longer. In this article we will teach you how to store onions.
Save onions in the kitchen
Most bagged onions and onions you buy at the grocery store should be stored in a cool, dry place, preferably away from light. The storage of potatoes also has similar conditions, but contrary to the habit of many people, it is best not to store these two together; Because onions emit ethylene gas, which causes the potatoes to age and rot, which is a problem in itself.
On the other hand, rotten potatoes also affect onions and make them ripen and rot. Therefore, it is better to store onions for a longer time, in addition to paying attention to points such as low light, cool place, dry place, etc., and keep the container or place where you keep onions and potatoes away from each other. .
With this, you can easily store onions and potatoes naturally for a longer period of time without spoilage, mold or rot and use them for cooking. Also, to increase the shelf life of onions in a kitchen environment, buy onions that contain less water to reduce the possibility of them spoiling.
How to store onions in the refrigerator
Sometimes you may choose an onion that is so large that only a portion of it will be enough for one cooking meal. In this case, you can put the rest in a sealed container or bag and keep it in the refrigerator for two to three days. Know that you have to put the onions in a container so that no air can escape; Because cutting onions absorbs microbes quickly and is not suitable for consumption.
Another way to store onions is to put them in the freezer, with this you can increase their shelf life from 6 to 8 months. However, frozen onions will have fewer health benefits than fresh onions. The main advantage of freezing onions is that they keep their original taste, and especially if they are chopped, you can easily use them for minced meat, soups, soups and other dishes that you do not have much time to eat.
If you freeze chopped or diced onions, you don't need to heat them after freezing and when you use them, you can just put them directly in the pan and fry them. If you want it to be more convenient, for dishes such as eggplant curds, garnishing all kinds of soups, etc., you can even fry the onion in addition to the raw onion first and then put it in a package in the freezer to save more time when you need it.
Onions kept in a home environment are sometimes seen to green and sprout or have a series of soft spots. In this case, it is better to immediately clean and chop them and put them in the freezer. In an article on how to prevent onion sprouting, we looked at ways to prevent onion sprouting in more detail.
How can we delay onion rot?
Basically, most families buy onions in larger quantities because they consume a lot of onions every day and use them to cook different dishes, so that they don't have to spend time and go to the store to get a small amount of onions every day. the time. You must have encountered the problem that some onions were too small and you don't know what to do with them! Our suggestion is to keep them pickled. Pickled onions are one of the tastiest pickles and of course the easiest to prepare, and can be used as a wonderful seasoning for many dishes such as pasta, lentil rice, etc.
To chop onions, you can separate small onions, clean them and put them in a jar after they are completely dry. Then, just like making a vinegar marinade to your taste, mix red or white vinegar with salt and boiling water and pour it over the onions until they are completely covered. Depending on your taste, you can add a few cloves of clean, dry garlic and greens such as mint to make it milder and with a better flavor.
You can significantly delay onion rot by creating proper storage conditions. Among the important conditions that prevent onion rot are:
fantastic place
Lack of sunlight and a dark place is preferred
A dry place (any place with moisture or close to a humidifier can easily cause onions to rot and rot)
Well ventilated place
Sometimes you may notice rot inside the onion the same day you buy it or a little later when you open an onion. This condition is usually due to previous improper storage conditions, i.e. the time between the arrival of the onions from the farm to the store. There may be some unfavorable conditions in the soil where the onion is grown, which will lead to early onion rot. Nothing can be done in these cases and the best advice is to be careful when buying onions and also buy them from a reputable store.
Is it harmful to store onions in the refrigerator?
It is best to store whole onions in a dry and cool environment outside the refrigerator, and if you buy the right amount, you can be sure that with the right storage conditions, you can have them in the kitchen environment for more than a week; But if you cut off some of it, then you have to put it in the refrigerator so that you can use the rest for the next meal. However, this cut portion should be placed in a container with a lid or at least with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.
One of the most important compounds found in onions is the mineral sulfur, which has very good anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. With this property, onion slices easily absorb surrounding microbes, and for this reason, keeping onion slices unprotected in the refrigerator is not a good idea, because they can absorb pathogens in the environment and react and oxidize quickly with the oxygen in the air.
Also, it is not recommended to store onions in the refrigerator in slices or gems; Because when cut, it releases water that contains a lot of nutrients and can lead to bacteria growing on its surface.
The conclusion
Preserving onions in the kitchen environment for at least two weeks is not a difficult task at all, and it is sufficient to follow the tips mentioned in this article. Also, in the case of sprouting onions or lack of time when preparing food, freezing onions is better than keeping them in the refrigerator.
