According to Michigan State University Extension, onions can be stored for up to eight months when they are kept in a cool, dark, and dry place. They should be kept dry and crisp, as well. Once they are cut, store them in a cool, dry, dark place away from heat and humidity. You can store them in your refrigerator or root cellar if the temperature does not exceed 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
How to Store Onions Long-Term?
Store Onions in a Place that’s Cold, Dark, and Dry
Store your storage onions (red, yellow, and white, as well as shallots and the small pearl and cippolini) in a dry, well-ventilated basket, bin, or large bowl since moisture and light cause mold (yuck!) and sprouting (annoying, but not a deal-breaker). Keep them away from direct sunlight, in a cool environment (not freezing), with moderate air movement. My collection of baking utensils is kept in a cupboard, but in the future, I hope to buy many crates’ worth and store them in a garage or cellar.
Onions can last up to a year in storage when kept between 30°F and 50°F. If not, they’ll last for a few weeks.
Keep Chopped Onions in the Refrigerator or Freezer
An onion cut in half or thinly sliced can be kept in the refrigerator for about a week. You can store onions in the freezer for several months as long as you cook them rather than use them raw as a topping or condiment when the texture is important. To reduce oxidation, moisture absorption, and stinkiness, store them in an airtight container (ideally made of glass, as plastic will absorb odor).
Along with Any Fresh, Sensitive Alliums
Scallions, spring onions, sweet onions, leeks, green garlic, garlic scapes, and chives are a few examples of alliums that should be kept in the refrigerator because they aren’t long for this world (i.e., they haven’t been cured for long-term preservation). Anything that arrives bundled, such as spring onions and scallions, should be spread out before being wrapped in a damp paper towel and placed in a bag or other airtight container. (I also remove anything slimy or wilting and throw it in the compost; it won’t help the situation.)
What are the Seven Varieties of Onions?
- Leeks
- Shallots
- The red onion
- Savory onions
- Yellow Onions
- The color green
- Citrus Onions
Leeks
Fantastic veggie leeks are underutilized. Leeks, which resemble large scallions, are great in soups and sauces. One of our favorite ways to prepare them is to bake them with Gruyère cheese and seasoned breadcrumbs. Leeks’ flavor is softened and mellowed by baking.
Shallots
Small onions known as shallots have brown skin and purplish inside meat. The bulbs of shallots are separated into multiple lobes, like garlic cloves.
According to how infrequently they appear in recipes and how carelessly they are displayed in supermarkets, shallots, which are sour and garlicky, are underestimated in the United States.
This is unfortunate because shallots are among the most flavorful varieties of onions. Because they are smaller and have thinner layers, they can be coarsely minced and used in sauces and salad dressings. They also have a powerful flavor.
Peel and cut them in half, then put them in the bottom of the pan when roasting a chicken since they are great roasted.
Red Onions
Red onions are a delicious addition to salads or anywhere else since their flesh and outer skin are both a deep magenta color. Red onions are great in salads, sandwiches, and burgers since they are light and sweet enough to be eaten raw. A splash of color will improve the food’s appearance.
Sugar Onions
Walla Walla, Maui, Vidalia, and other “sweet” onion varieties are among many that are available. Sweet onions are better for caramelizing because they are larger and flatter than yellow onions, have a skin that is more translucent and colorful, and contain more sugar. Their greater size and sweeter flavor make them ideal for onion rings.
White Onions
White onions are perfect for putting fresh in salsa or guacamole because they have a papery white skin and a milder, sweeter flavor than yellow onions.
Green Onions
Green onions are young onions that have not yet fully formed a bulb or have only partially done so. The tall green shoots are also utilized, giving color and crunch to soups, omelets, and tacos. The entire plant, including the shoots, is regularly used. They go by several other names, including shallots, scallions, spring onions, cebollitas (Spanish for “onions”), and salad.
To prevent confusion, it should be noted that in some English-speaking countries, green onions are sometimes referred to as “French shallots.”
Even though we speak the same language, there are major differences in how we refer to ingredients and other culinary products. On the other hand, regardless of their name, green onions, shallots, and cebollitas can be recognized by their appearance and flavor.
Yellow Onions
The only exception might be as a garnish for your martini, but yellow onions are a worker, a staple, and a daily brown beauty that can be utilized for everything (use pearl onion). You could undoubtedly lead a rich and satisfying life even if this were the only onion you ever tasted. The heavy brown parchment skin surrounds the pearly white flesh, which has a flavor and aroma that is strong, sulfurous, and spicy. When the onion is called for in a recipe, it is assumed to be a yellow onion, but the type is not specified.
Yellow onions are the ones you usually fry. Use them to make French onion soup. This onion has a strong flavor due to its high sulfur content, which mellows out to become sweet and delicious after cooking. It is perfect for roasting and caramelizing due to its heat resilience.
Reference: Descriptions of types of principal American varieties of onions
How are Onions Frozen?
The crispness of chopped or sliced onions will be lost once they are frozen and used in recipes, but you can keep them for subsequent use. They work well in pre-made recipes as a result. You’ll probably be unsatisfied if you consume them uncooked. To freeze onions, chop or slice them into the desired size (do not freeze them whole). Then, spread them out on a sheet pan and quickly freeze them. Squeeze out as much air as possible before transferring your frozen onions to a freezer bag.
To prevent the scent of onions from permeating the rest of your refrigerator and freezer, it is preferable to freeze many onions in batches. Many frozen items will easily pick up this odor and flavor because their odor will be strong until frozen when it isn’t noticeable.
What is the Onion Grilling Techniques?
The onions should be roasted on the grill for approximately eight minutes at direct medium heat, between 350°F and 450°F. Them at one time. The onions ought to have grill marks but not burn.
Even though onions prefer direct heat, it’s a good idea to build a two-zone fire with direct and indirect heat just in case. They will always have a secure location to continue cooking in this manner.
On a charcoal barbecue, leave an area without any lit briquettes and turn off one of the burners on a gas grill. Extra virgin olive oil should be lightly drizzled on sliced and skewered onions, and kosher salt should be liberally applied.
Add ground cayenne or ancho chili powder to the onions for an extra kick. If the grill is too hot, move the onions to an area of indirect heat so they can continue to cook away from flaming coals.
Any onion pieces that have turned black should be removed. Instead of those short chunks, the leftover onion will be sweet and add some texture to your burger. If you spend extra time grilling your onions, your burger will be better.
Ingredients:
- Two medium-sized sweet onions
- Two teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
- Over the onions, sprinkle one tablespoon of kosher salt.
Method:
- Preheat.
- The grill should be preheated at 400 degrees.
Prepare your onions. Your onions should have the skin removed from the exterior after being cut off at the root. While slicing the onion into 1/2 inch-thick slices, leave the onion rings whole. Slices from the ends of each onion should be discarded.
The skewered onions. Slowly push a metal skewer through the center of each onion slice. It is easier to do this if you press the onions firmly against the board with the palm of your hand and insert the skewers to be parallel to the board. Up till all the onions are skewered, keep going.
In a medium bowl, mix the marinade ingredients. Pour the marinade over the thinly sliced onions and turn the skewers to coat the onions on both sides. Seasoned onions should be spread out on a baking sheet with a rim.
The onion is grilled. Place the onions on the grates of the hot grill. For 4-5 minutes, grill each side. Use the remaining marinade to baste the onions while they cook on the grill. The onions should color and barely sear as the sugars in the marinade caramelize; you don’t want the onions to burn. Remove the onions from the flame if they start to get too hot. When the onions are done to your liking, take them off the grill and serve them warm.
The onions must be cooked externally without losing their shape or structure.
Serve immediately. For a flavor punch of sweetness and savory, serve them alone, atop burgers, or on top of the steak.
How to Recognize a Bad Chopped Onion?
Here are a few quick and easy tests to determine whether chopped onions are rotten:
- These onions are typically good for a week, but they are likely to go bad a few days after cutting them. Checking the color and hardness of the flesh is the best way to see if your chopped onions are incorrect. Throw away any onions with blemishes, soft areas, or an offensive odor.
- The next approach to verify if your chopped onions are incorrect is to see if they have grown slime. This slime indicates that fungi have already grown inside the onion after feeding on it.
- Consuming such onions could put your health in danger for things like infection, sensitivity, and irritation.
- Check the texture of the onion in addition to the scent. If there are any mushy patches in the chopped onions, they are rotten. Chopped onions should be smooth and solid.
- Additionally, onions must be smooth and firm. An onion that is too old and has begun to rot will have a spongy feel and a terrible scent. If these symptoms are present, you should throw away the onions immediately.
- Look for sprouts, soft areas, or brown or black stains on the onion’s skin. Additionally, it shouldn’t be soft or damaged.
Conclusion
Before storing your onions for long periods, you must prepare them properly. The root cellar must have specific humidity levels, temperature, and lighting conditions. You should avoid freezing vegetables because they tend to go mushy when thawed. A root cellar should maintain temperatures of 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below. You can also place them in a cold, damp room during the summer, winter, or early spring.
