Onions are an essential ingredient used to add flavour to a number of recipes, whether it’s French onion soup, making a delicious gravy for a Sunday roast or simply added as a garnish. But it’s often not necessary to use an entire onion for a recipe, and you might find you often place the other half in the fridge to use later, only to find it’s gone soft and mushy after a few days.
Getting through leftovers can be tricky, especially if your fridge is full of ingredients instead of a whole meal you can simply reheat, and coming up with inspiration for half an onion left in the fridge might leave you stumped. Knowing how to store leftover onions can save you the worry of having to use it up in time, and while there’s plenty of tips for when it comes to storing whole onions properly, chances are you’re letting leftovers go to waste.
Knowing how to store onions properly is also crucial to maintaining the flavour and texture of it when it comes to adding it to a recipe. While freshly brought onions should ideally be kept in a cool and dry spot in your kitchen, the same doesn’t apply to leftovers.
Although experts advise keeping whole onions out of the fridge, as the cold and at times humid environment here can accelerate spoilage, once you’ve cut into an onion, it should be transferred into here.
In an article for Southern Living, chef Katie Rosenhouse revealed the best way to store leftover onions, and while it’s essential to place them in the fridge to preserve their freshness, there’s one thing you should always store them with.
It’s common to peel an onion and remove the entire outer layer when cooking with them, but in order to preserve leftover onions, the skin should be kept on.
Instead of removing the entire out later, cutting your onion in half and simply removing the skin from the half you actually need in a recipe can save it from spoiling in the fridge, and Katie explained that the skin acts as a protective layer that can help it stay moist and fresh.
It should also be stored with the skin facing up, but if you’ve already chopped your onion up, the next best option is to simply place it in an airtight container to prevent it from losing more moisture.
Like other vegetables, onions should also be kept in the crisper drawer in the fridge to prevent them from being exposed to any changes in temperature.
