How long do onions last in the pantry? The onion is one of the most valuable vegetables in your pantry. But what do you do when the onions you buy start to spoil? It’s easy to keep onions fresh for months in your kitchen pantry. Follow these five simple steps to ensure your onions stay fresh for as long as possible.
Imagine cooking without chopping onions. Imagine being able to take a whole onion from the fridge for any dish.
How long does an onion last?
It’s crucial to use onions quickly because they don’t have a long shelf life because they are root vegetables.
- The time that onions will stay in storage depends on their storage.
- If you store your freshly grown onions in the fridge, they will keep them for up to two months.
- Onions can be kept for up to two months when maintained adequately at room temperature.
- The shelf life of cooked onions in the fridge is about seven days.
- Onions can be frozen and stored for two to twelve months.
- If you preserve them properly, pickled, canned, and refrigerated onions can last for four to six months.
How to keep onions longer?
Follow these five tips to store onions for months:
- First, store your onions in a cool, dark place. A cupboard or pantry is ideal, but a trunk under the stairs or even a cardboard box will work fine. Remember that light makes onions go rancid quickly, so keep them away from windows and other light sources.
- Ensuring they are kept cold during storage helps too. Place your onions on a shelf at the back of the fridge or in your deep freezer if it’s particularly cool and dark.
- Next, make sure they’re not touching anything when stored. Rolling them up or putting them into a plastic bag will increase their surface area, making them go bad more quickly. Place each onion in its paper bag to keep it from touching the others.
If you store the onions properly, they will last anywhere from two weeks to a month. So check them regularly, and their useful lives are over when they start to look bad.
Two weeks is a little too long for most people, so what do you do?
There are three options:
- Bury them in the ground: This works great at farmers’ markets or organic farms that sell products directly from the ground. The flavor of onions will stay fresh longer if buried in soil, but it isn’t for everyone. You’ll also have to dig them up and rebury them every two weeks.
- Produce storage: This option is the easiest, but it’s probably not the best way to store onions year-round. Large grocery stores often use it, as they can’t keep onions well. The risk of storing onions in a refrigerator is also high, as their flavor will quickly turn sour over time.
- The best storage method: One of the best ways to ensure that your onions last for months is to freeze them. Slice your onions, place them on a baking sheet, and put the baking sheet into your freezer. When frozen, store in a plastic bag in the freezer.
If frozen properly, your onions will last a long time, up to one year. The downside is that it’s not convenient to take out just one onion when you want to cook something, but as long as you’re happy with always using whole onions rather than slices, it’s worth it.
Most people want both convenience and longevity, so I recommend freezing the onions individually. Of course, it’s more labor, but you can cook with a single onion.
Can you freeze chopped onions?
Yes, you can freeze chopped onions, and here is how to do it. How to freeze chopped onions?
1. First, take your onion and cut off the stem; it is where most of the bacteria that cause spoilage are stored, so removing it is essential.
2. Cut a thin slice into the onion’s root, then put that slice into ice-cold water for around 5 minutes. This will stop the onion from turning black and ensure it stays fresh for as long as possible.
3. If you’re freezing individual onions, place them into an airtight container and put them into the freezer. They can be kept frozen for a month or two without any problems.
4. To make things easier, label the container with the date you started freezing them and when they will go bad—this way, you’ll always know how long your onions have been in the freezer.
5. If you’re freezing onions in bulk, put each onion on its own piece of paper and freeze it that way. You can put them in a loose pile as you put them in the bag or box. Putting individual pieces of paper between each onion will make it easier to separate them when it comes time to cook.
Can You Freeze Spring Onions?
Yes, because spring onions are one of the few vegetables you can freeze for later use (up to 3 months). Freezing spring onions is as simple as freezing any other vegetable. To freeze, simply clean, bag, and store in the freezer.
Can you freeze onions raw?
Yes, you can freeze onions raw. This same method of freezing raw onions applies to the above process of freezing chopped onions. The difference is that instead of chopping the onions, you just put them in the bag in their original form (bulb).
Can you freeze Vidalia onions?
Yes, Vidalia onions are a type of onion that you can freeze for later use. To a large extent, you can stymie the growth of microorganisms by maintaining a low temperature. Therefore, a smaller number is preferable. The farm suggests storing Vidalia onions for up to six months in the refrigerator’s vegetable drawer. In this way, a freezer is an excellent way to extend their storage time. Nutrient stability is not an issue because freezing preserves it.
Can you freeze cooked onions?
Yes, you can freeze cooked onions. If you intend to cook, you may have some leftover onions. Avoiding waste by boiling and then freezing the onions may be an option.
You can freeze fried onions after they’ve been cooked. Since cooked onions tend to clump together, storing as much as you’ll use at a time is better. You can preserve cooked onions for up to 6 months in the freezer if frozen immediately after being cooked.
Conclusion
If you’re planning on storing onions for more than a few months, you should keep a few things in mind:
- Use very high-quality onions for storage: Old, thin, or bruised onions won’t last nearly as long as high-quality ones, so make sure your onions are close to perfect before storing them.
- Keep the onions in a cool and dark place: Light makes it harder for the onion to retain its flavor. Keep them away from windows and other sources of light.
- Make sure to store each onion individually: This is a great way to ensure your onions last for years, but remember that it’s not always a convenient way to cook with an onion.
You can use garlic or lemons as an alternative, but these aren’t as good for storing long-term as regular onions.
