Such a strange title, I know. But how else are you gonna keep those sweet onions so long?
This early summer I bought not 1 but 2 cases of Vidalia Onions at a produce auction. At a cost of $16 per case and with each case weighing 36 pounds, I knew it was a great deal – less than 50 cents per pound. Obviously, we love onions around here!
We used the Vidalia onions freely throughout the summer in all kinds of cooking. During the hot weather the onions were taken to the cool basement and hung in panty hose, or nylon stockings.
One onion was placed gently in each toe of a lady’s nylon stocking and an overhand knot was tied at the top of each onion. Another onion was put down each leg and another knot was tied on top of each onion. The pattern was repeated until onions filled the legs. The nylons were hung so the onions could hang freely.
Now that the garage is cooler than the basement, we have Vidalia Onions hanging in knotted nylons in the garage, just outside the kitchen. Note that the onions don’t touch each other.
The only caution here is to to take a pair of scissors and cut below the next to last knot to remove the next onion.
When sweet onions are stored for any length of time the areas where the onions touch one another are typically the first places to decay. For longer term storage of sweet onions it is important to handle them gently, and to devise a way to not let them touch.
Another way to store the sweet onions is to wrap each one individually in newspaper and then store in a refrigerator crisper or drawer section. The newspaper serves the same purpose as the knotted panty hose, which is to separate the onions and not allow them to touch one another. If refrigerator crisper space is limited, then hanging onions in a cool place is preferred.
Our Walla Walla onions from the garden are stored loose in a bin in the garage. We’ve handled them gently to limit bruising and we’ll use them pretty quickly so we aren’t worried about them going bad.
Well, before you think our way of storing onions is getting pretty crazy, you should know we learned it from a fellow who lives in Georgia, near Vidalia country. We’ve used this technique for years and if this year can be a good example, we’ve already stored the onions from early June to early November with no ill effects.
Does anyone else store their Vidalia onions so carefully?