When you love onions, you know that it can be hard to store them once they have been cut or cooked in some way.
The chemicals and oils in this vegetable can lead to the breakdown of the cooked or cut product quite rapidly. This can create a challenge for storage or for the preparation of onion products in advance of a meal.
If you have been worried about storing the onion that you have cut or prepared in some way, you probably realize that there are a few options that you can use for storage.
You can leave your onion on the counter, you can put it in the fridge, or you might want to freeze it. When you cannot freeze your onion for one reason or another, you will have to choose between placing it on the counter until it is needed or putting it in the fridge.
If you are ready to learn more about whether onions last longer in the fridge or on the counter, you need to read on!
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How Long Will Onion Last On The Counter?
An onion will last for about 12 hours on the counter. This is the maximum time that you could wait before using them.
They might still have become less than ideal as far as consistency and taste at this point, but they should still be safe to eat.
When you are considering if the storage of your onions can be done on the counter safely, you will need to make sure that you are at least placing the onion in a cool place away from the light.
Onions are always easier to keep fresh when they are in a dark and cool place. You will want to store your uncut and fresh onions in the right kind of container in a cool place that does not have much light either.
The reality is that your onion will not last for long once it has been cut or cooked and placed on the counter. Besides turning brown and becoming mushy, it will also likely lose some of its flavors when stored in this way.
Even if you have a really ideal cool and dark spot for your onion to be stored on the counter, it is not likely to remain truly edible past about the 6-hour mark.
How Long Does Onion Last in the Fridge?
When you store an onion that has been cut or cooked in the fridge, you can expect to get about two days of storage time.
This is because onion that is not frozen will continue to break down and lose texture and taste. The nature of the onion makes it much less likely to store well than other vegetables that can be stored for longer periods of time.
The other issue that you need to contend with when you store your onion in the fridge is that it will probably make your fridge smell very strongly of onions almost right away.
This is another great argument for using your stored onion right off before it makes your fridge smell much less than ideal.
A stored onion that is not whole and uncut will have a maximum shelf life of about 48 hours in the fridge. And this is only in the instance that it has been stored correctly in the right kind of container that is airtight.
What Can I Do To Make My Onion Last Longer?
If you are trying to ensure that your cooked or cut onions will last longer, there are a few tips that you can use to keep them from spoiling rapidly.
The first thing that you must do is make sure that your hands are clean when you are storing the onion. Bacteria from your fingers can cause the onion to break down very rapidly, and this can lead to an onion that loses its texture and flavor right away.
No matter how you are storing your onion, you will need to be certain that you are working with clean hands as you place it in the container that you are going to use for this process.
The other thing that you need to consider is that you might just want to cut or cook exactly as much onion as you need for your recipe.
It is easier to store a large segment of the whole onion for later use than it is to keep chopped or cooked onions fresh enough to eat.
When you store half of an onion correctly, for example, you might get as much as seven days of storage time where it remains good enough to enjoy and cook with.
Remember those whole onions also need to be stored in the right kind of container and in a dark and cool place.
This will keep the onions that you have purchased fresh and ready to cook for much longer than if you placed your whole onions in the fridge or in a warm place that gets a lot of light.
Onions can actually sprout when placed in a warm and bright place.
Onion Stored In The Fridge Lasts Longer
When you store the onion that you have cut or prepared in some way in the fridge, it will last longer than the onion that is placed on the counter.
When talking about uncut onions, your onion will last longer when placed in the right container in a cool and dark place. You will not want to store uncut onions in the fridge due to the moisture content in the air inside this cooler space.
Make sure that you store your onion with clean hands and that you try to avoid cutting up and cooking too much onion for your needs when you are making a recipe.
Onions that have not been cut will last for as long as six months, so make sure that you are not wasting onion by accident due to preparing too much onion when you are cooking.
I am Brianna, a self-published author with a passion for sharing my knowledge and expertise on various topics with people looking to find the perfect items for their needs. I love ensuring that the right informative content is available to people looking for the right information. I am an avid horseback rider and reader when I am not writing.
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