Emma Miller
Storing onions is an easy process if you follow our tips. There are a few universal tips on how to store onions for the winter at home. For this, you need to choose a dry and well-ventilated room. It should be dark and cool. Ideal for such purposes is a pantry, cellar or garage.
If these conditions are not met, the bulbs will begin to sprout or rot, and will lose their flavor.
How to store onions on the balcony or in the pantry – basic recommendations
In order to understand why some bulbs can lie all winter and not spoil, while others do not, you need to choose the right varieties for storage:
- Give preference to yellow bulbs, they store better than white or red ones.
- Choose late varieties of onions, those that mature in August-September.
- The bulb should be small (3-5 cm in diameter), with an even, dry and smooth surface. The presence of damage, green shoots, mold or white plaque indicates that the vegetable is already spoiled.
How to store onions so they don’t rot – temperature and humidity
As we have already said, the ideal place for storage should be dark, dry, cool and well ventilated. The most optimal temperature is 7-13 ° C. Humidity is 65-70%.
The second indicator should be watched particularly carefully, especially if onions are stored with other vegetables. Potatoes, carrots, beets and celery release a lot of moisture, which can affect the preservation of onions.
Where to store onions for the winter – choosing a place
Basement, cellar, closed balcony and garage that is not heated are good places to store onions. There is always low air temperature, but high humidity. That’s why it is important to monitor this and install a device-dehydrator.
The refrigerator is used by many housewives for such manipulations with vegetables. However, it has a number of disadvantages:
- When you open the door, there’s a temperature change, which causes the humidity level to rise. If you can’t store onions elsewhere, wrap them in paper.
- The refrigerator door is closed hermetically, there is no additional airflow, and this leads to inadequate ventilation.
- The pantry or home utility closet is not the best option for long-term storage of onions. In such a place it is impossible to provide the right conditions for the vegetables, so if there is no other choice – keep an eye on the humidity, so that the onions do not begin to sprout or rot.
How to store onions in the refrigerator, on the balcony and in the garage
First of all, find a suitable container. Ideal for this would be:
- wicker baskets;
- Capron stockings or pantyhose;
- special nets;
- wooden boxes;
- cardboard boxes with ventilation holes on the sides;
- cloth bags.
Never store vegetables in plastic bags – they are not airtight and do not meet the necessary requirements.
Don’t forget to regularly pick your onions, even if you’ve provided them with ideal “wintering” conditions. Thanks to this tactic you will be able to find the missing onions in time and remove them, as well as give the vegetables an opportunity to “breathe”. In addition, we recommend general ventilation of the room once every 2-3 weeks.
