'Excellent' onion storage method stops them going off for a 'long time'

28 January 2024 , 08:00

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Onion storage hack keeps them fresh for longer (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

This hack will keep your onions fresh for weeks.

There are few feelings more frustrating than opening up your fridge or cupboards ready to cook your favourite meal, only to find that one of the key ingredients has gone mouldy before you had time to use it.

Onions are a foundational ingredient in so many recipes, from soups to pasta sauces and curries, so keeping the ones you buy as fresh as possible, for as long as possible is key to ensuring that you're always ready to whip something up after a long day at work. The good news is that this expert-approved storage hack will prevent your onions from going mouldy or soft, leaving you ready to cook.

The hack comes from the experts at Turning Table, who advise how to keep this hardy root vegetable in the best possible condition: by storing it in a pair of tights.

This is because the fabric allows the onion to breathe properly, unlike the plastic bags that we often are provided with at shops to collect loose veggies and fruit, which can stop air from circulating properly around your onions, and mean they go soft or even mouldy quite quickly.

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"It turns out that pantyhose isn't just good for keeping your legs covered - they also make excellent onion wrappers. Why? Onions need to breathe to last a long time. They absorb moisture more readily than other items," the expert explains.

This storage method is backed up by the National Onion Association who explain on its website that onions should be kept dry and in a cool place in your kitchen, and only placed in a plastic bag where air can't get to them if you have chopped them ahead of time for meal prep - in this case, they should also be popped in the fridge.

If you have only a handful of onions, one method is to cut the top of the leg off a pair of tights to create one tube-like sack, then fill the tip of the foot with a few onions. Then, tie the top opening up tightly to seal it off, and only open it as and when you need to use an onion.

However, if you are a keen cook who gets through a lot of onions, then you can use an entire pair of tights, filling up one leg at a time, and tying a knot between each onion.

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Emma Mackenzie