Skip to content
REFRIGERATION

Food storage

How to store onions

Whole, cured onions are a dry-storage crop. They need low humidity and good airflow more than they need cold. Too much humidity encourages sprouting, rooting and rot. Specialist cold stores hold onions at about 0 to +2 °C at moderate humidity, but in a restaurant or shop, the realistic aim is a cool, dry, shaded and ventilated store. Do not put whole onions in a normal kitchen fridge: high humidity and condensation when they come out lead to softening and mould. Peeled, cut and sliced onions, however, are perishable and must be chilled at 0 to +4 °C, covered.

  • Chilled0 to +2 °C (proper cold stores only)
  • Humidity65–70% RH, well ventilated

Do

  • Store whole onions in mesh bags, crates or open racks with space for air to move.
  • Keep onion stock off the floor and away from walls, in a dark or shaded area.
  • Sort regularly and remove soft, sprouting or mouldy bulbs before they spread rot.
  • Store onions away from potatoes; each speeds the other's spoilage.
  • Chill peeled or cut onions in airtight containers so the smell does not spread through the fridge.
  • Use chopped onion within the shift or the time your plan allows; it softens and sours quickly.

Avoid

  • Do not store whole onions in sealed plastic bags.
  • Do not put whole onion sacks in a domestic or reach-in fridge for long-term storage.
  • Do not keep onions near damp walls or water sources.
  • Do not leave chopped onion uncovered next to dairy or desserts; it taints them.

In Indian conditions

Onions are bought in bulk across Indian kitchens, often by the sack. In the monsoon, humidity in storerooms rises sharply and onions start to rot or sprout faster; use a fan or ventilated rack and check stock weekly. In summer, the main risk is heat; keep sacks away from kitchen equipment and out of sunlight. Large buyers sometimes use cold storage at specialist facilities for long holding, but that is a different scale from a restaurant store. In kitchens, the fridge should be used for peeled and cut onions only.

General good practice for commercial kitchens and shops. Where your FSSAI licence conditions or food-safety plan set stricter limits, follow those.