Dear Home Ec 101,
I’ve always read that onions and potatoes should be stored well away from each other because if stored together they will cause each other to rot. But I frequently see kitchen renovation magazines that toot the joy of “basket drawers” stacked on top of each other, one filled with onions and one with potatoes. Have I been keeping my onions and potatoes in different cabinets for naught, or is it just that they shouldn’t be stored in the same basket?
Thanks!
Sprouting in Spokane
Heather says:
This is one old wives tale that has firmly taken root in our culture. The truth of the matter is that potatoes require cooler storage than onions. If you only have a few that will be used within a reasonable time frame, they can be stored together with no harm.
Potatoes should be stored in a cool environment. (45F – 50F) As this is a difficult temperature for many homeowners to achieve, I suggest only buying what you may use in a week. Storing potatoes in the refrigerator will cause the starches to convert to sugar. Additionally, potatoes that have been stored in too cool of an environment will darken while cooking. Too much warmth and humidity will cause potatoes to spoil rapidly. Keep in mind that potatoes turn green and bitter when exposed to light. If a potato has a small greenish spot, cut it away, but if it is mostly green throw it out. Buying large bags of potatoes is typically false economy, unless you are feeding a large family, or have more storage options than most households.
A handy trick to storing onions is to use an old pair of pantyhose. Place an onion in the toe of one leg, knot, and add another onion, repeat until the leg is full. Hang to store. This method allows air to circulate which helps prevent spoilage. Simply cut the hose as you need the onions.
Enjoy!
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A man who works in my grocer’s produce dept once told me the pantyhose “trick”. I’m glad to know that he was definitely being helpful and not creepy! At the time, I wasn’t quite sure. He seemed to be sincere but, you never know!
Thanks! I had never heard the pantyhose trick before!
I don’t agree that buying large amounts of potatoes at once is false economy. We buy 50 lbs from a local farmer’s market in the fall and store them in a large plastic tub (the 18 gallon Walmart special) in my unheated garage. We don’t use the cover, we just lay a towel over the top to keep insects out. This amount lasts my family (2 parents, 4 teens) about 3 months.
Scrappy, it sounds like you have ideal conditions to store potatoes. As Heather said, not everyone has those conditions. I know that my garage is too warm throughout the fall to store potatoes and then it’s too cold once winter hits.
Also, it would take my family about 10 years to eat 50 pounds of potatoes, haha. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
I’ve learned not to store potatoes in a sealed container unless you’re making vodka…