How to stop your onions from sprouting and rotting

Onions are one of those ingredients that quietly hold our everyday cooking together. A handful of slices sizzling in hot oil is often the very first step of a curry, a stir-fry or even a biryani. They lend depth, sweetness, and bite to almost everything they touch. Beyond taste, they are also packed with nutrition, offering vitamin C to build immunity and vitamin B6 to support healthy cell growth.

Because of this, onions are rarely bought in small amounts. When the market price dips, households tend to buy sacks full and store them for later. But here lies the challenge: onions don’t always stay fresh the way we want them to. They sprout, soften, or rot in no time, leaving you with waste instead of savings. Storing them well is as important as buying them in bulk.

Here are some tried and tested ways to make sure your onions stay firm and flavourful for longer.

Pick only the good ones
Start with the right onions. Choose firm and dry bulbs. Leave behind any that look cracked, damp, sprouting, or bruised at the roots.

Keep them cool and dry
Onions last best in a cool spot with good air circulation. Direct sunlight and damp corners are their enemies.

Do not refrigerate
Putting onions in the fridge might seem safe, but it dulls their natural taste. Unless you have no choice, keep them out of the refrigerator.

Avoid plastic bags
Plastic locks in moisture and quickly spoils onions. Use baskets, mesh bags or open containers where air can move freely.

Never store with potatoes
Onions and potatoes make a bad pair in storage. Each releases moisture and gases that cause the other to spoil. Keep them separate.

Check them often
Even well-stored onions need a quick check now and then. Remove any that feel soft, damp or smell bad before they ruin the lot.