Onions are a staple vegetable in many households, used in many meals to add flavour and texture.
However, when a whole one isn’t used, it can be hard to know how to store the other half, with many opting for foil or clingfilm.
Keeping them in the fridge also isn’t recommended, as they aren’t a fan of cold temperatures, and hate being stored near other fruit or vegetables.
YouTuber Jerry James Store said: “I’m going to talk to you about how you properly store onions. If you do it correctly, you can actually store them for up to six months.
“Onions hate being in the fridge, that’s the first thing – never put them in the fridge. If you do, they actually rot and go mushy.”
If you have a pantry, it’s recommended onions are stored in there due to there being plenty of air circulation.
Ventilation is really important because onions let out a lot of moisture themselves, according to the pro.
The expert noted: “One thing you definitely don’t want to do is store onions anywhere next to potatoes.
“Because of the moisture and ethylene gas onions put out, they cause potatoes to sprout.
“The food you can store next to onions is garlic as they prefer the same environment.”
Onions can be purchased in plastic bags or loose, and if you buy them in a plastic bag, it’s important to remove them.
Despite the ventilation holes in the bag, they aren’t enough to keep the onions fresh so make to remove them and place in a net or mesh bag.
This helps to encourage better airflow, keeping moisture levels down, and it can also be used for other vegetables too.
Carrots are another vegetable which can be stored in a mesh bag either in the vegetable drawer of your fridge or in a dry, dark place.
If planning on using onions the same day they are purchased, simply store them loose on your kitchen counter until ready.
If you have lots of onions left over, freezing them is a great way to make them last longer, but they should be diced or sliced prior to freezing.
Freezing the vegetables can also cause the entire appliance to smell like onions so make sure to store them correctly in a container.
