Storing onions is actually really easy when you know the right ways to keep them fresh and prevent them from making your refrigerator smell like onions.
You can easily keep fresh, uncut onions fresh and good to eat for a few months if they are stored in the right container and kept away from heat and moisture.
When you have cut onions to store, you will need to store them properly to prevent the onion smell from permeating the entire fridge.
There are some key ways to keep the onion smell contained, and using glass storage containers can be one of the key ways to prevent the onion smell from impacting the smell of your fridge.
If you are ready to learn some more about the way to store cut onions in the refrigerator without smell, you need to read on.
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Can I Prevent Smell From Being a Factor During Short-Term Storage?
If you are planning to use a Ziploc bag or a Tupperware container, you will probably not have trouble with the onion smell escaping these storage methods for a couple of days.
After this, you will probably have a fridge that smells very strongly of onions every time the door of the fridge is opened. These materials are just permeable enough to take on the onion oils and, therefore also impart the smell to the rest of the fridge.
The reason that onions can smell more strongly over time is that the process of the onions breaking down releases more of their oils, and with the oils, more smell.
Storing onions in the fridge can be really tricky if you don’t want the onion smell to invade the whole fridge, but you can use common storage methods for a couple of days without issue in most cases.
Onions that have been cut will not last as long when stored as whole onions. You might need to consider storing your cut onions in a freezer-safe bag to prevent bad smells from getting into your fridge.
How to Store Onions Without Smell
When you want to protect your fridge from the smell of your cut onions, the best bet is to store them in a glass container.
Glass canning jars are a perfect choice for this because they are easy to track down, and the lids of these containers seal very tightly.
Remember that this is a product made to keep food fresh with a really quality airtight seal. This is the perfect kind of storage vessel for your cut onions for this reason.
Glass will not absorb the smell of the onion or the oils from the onion, which is also a really big help. You will not get the permeation of smell that can happen with plastic products.
Glass jars are really durable and easy to clean as well, so when you are done with one batch of cut onions, you can clean the jar, and it will be ready to go again.
When you use other storage methods for your cuts onions, you will likely have to throw them out. Even Tupperware will need to be thrown out after a few uses because the onion smell can be really hard to get out of the container.
You might want to designate a special Tupperware for this task just to prevent having to throw out your storage containers over and over due to the smell.
Glass canning jars can be purchased in variable quantities easily off of Amazon or other sites, or you want usually get them at the grocery store as well.
This is the ideal storage container for this kind of need and one that will be durable and hold up for years of use when cared for properly.
What Else Can I Do to Cut Down on The Smell?
Onions will have less smell if you rinse them after you cut them. This removes some of the oils and the chemicals that make the onion have a strong smell.
You should always rinse the onion that you are planning to store so that the onion smell will be more contained from the beginning.
This can also be a good rule of thumb to prevent your onion from having a much stronger flavor when it is removed from the fridge.
Make sure that you always rinse out your storage container thoroughly, even if you are using glass jars. You will want to remove all the old, strong-smelling onion oil from the interior of the storage container before you add new onions.
This will prevent magnifying the smell of the freshly cut onions that you are storing, and it will prevent bacteria from breaking down the onion that you have just stored for later use.
You can also make sure that you replace the lid of your canning jar as needed to keep the smell contained within the jar itself.
The seal on the lids for these jars can go bad over time, and strong smells might be able to escape if this is the case. You can usually get spare lids for these kinds of storage containers readily, so this should be no trouble.
Storing Cut Onions Without Smell is Easy
When you have the right tools on hand to store your onions, you will find that storing them in your fridge without a bad smell is easy.
Onions are always going to impart less smell to your fridge if they are rinsed before being stored and if they are stored in glass containers. You can use Tupperware or a Ziploc bag, but only for a couple of days before strong onion smells will escape these containers.
Having the right storage container on hand can make all the difference when storing onions and glass canning jars are often your best bet. Make sure that you also wash out your storage container regularly and keep it fresh and clean for each new batch of onions that you store.
This will help with the leftover smell and bacteria that might be imparted to your next batch of cut onions.
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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