How best to store onions

Onions is a perishable crop which needs to be carefully handled to preserve its freshness and taste. Freshly harvested onions should first be dried on a dry, warm, and well ventilated shed, and not directly under the sun. The onions should be spread out on a clean and dry surface for two to three weeks […]

Onions is a perishable crop which needs to be carefully handled to preserve its freshness and taste.

Freshly harvested onions should first be dried on a dry, warm, and well ventilated shed, and not directly under the sun. The onions should be spread out on a clean and dry surface for two to three weeks or until the onion tops and necks are thoroughly dried and the outer onion bulb scales begin to flake.

About one inch above the bulb should be cut off or the foliage could as well be braided together for storage, onions that show signs of decay should immediately be discarded.

It is also important for the onions to be soil and debris free before putting them in a storage material.

The onion bulbs selected for storage should be firm, with dry and thin neck. Thick necked bulbs have higher moisture content and does not store well.

For the storage material, onions should be kept inside a material that allows proper air circulation like in a mesh bag/ jute bag, open-mesh nets plastic sack, basket or in a crate. It can then be stored in a garage, warehouse or in a suitable room.

Onions kept under hot temperature begin to sprout after a while, likewise when kept under cold temperature, it alters the taste and spoils the onions.

As such, it should be preferably stored between a temperature of 4o Celsius and 10° Celsius. This is just above fridge temperature and below room temperature.

Again, onions pick up moisture easily, so it should be stored in a dark, well ventilated dry room devoid of moisture and humidity to avoid rotting.

 

Compiled by Safina Buhari

Source: www.fao.org and www.extension.iastate.edu