The spring onion can give an extra touch to many dishes. It is a fresh and delicious vegetable that, however, tends to rot quickly if not properly stored. You can keep it in the refrigerator or on the windowsill. To keep it fresh for a long time, you need to make sure you store it properly.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Put the Spring Onions in Water in the Refrigerator
Step 1. Fill a tall glass or jar with 3-5 cm of water
Use a glass or jar with a heavy base so it stays upright. The water must be cold or at room temperature, not hot.
The glass or jar must be tall enough to hold the spring onions in an upright position. For example, a pint glass or large jar is fine
Step 2. Put the spring onions in water on the root side
Typically these vegetables are sold with the roots, which can be used to keep them fresh. Soaking the roots in water allows the spring onions to continue "drinking," which helps them stay fresh and firm.
If the spring onions have been rootless but the end has been left, soaking this in water will cause new roots to grow
Step 3. Cover the spring onions and the top of the container with a plastic bag
To maintain the correct humidity level in the refrigerator, cover the vegetables with a plastic bag. You can use a food bag or a resealable bag, depending on which one you have available.
The simplest thing is to reuse the food bag you used to take them home
Step 4. Tighten the plastic bag around the top of the container
If you covered them with a food bag, you can use a rubber band to tighten it around the container. If you used a resealable bag, you can simply zip the bag as close to the sides of the container as possible.
The plastic bag must not be hermetically sealed. Just a little moisture "wraps" the spring onions. If there was no bag, the humidity would disappear completely in the refrigerator
Step 5. Place the container in the refrigerator
Place the container on a high shelf in the refrigerator. Put it in a place where it cannot be bumped and where it is stable, so that it remains straight and the water does not spill in the refrigerator.
When you need a spring onion, just take the container out of the refrigerator, remove the bag, take one, put the bag back in its place and put the container back in the refrigerator
Step 6. Change the water from time to time
To keep the spring onions fresh, you need to change the water regularly. If you do not do this, it is possible for mold to accumulate on the surface of the water, causing them to rot.
When you change the water, you can also rinse the part from which the roots come out. This will eliminate any bacteria or molds that are growing on the vegetables
Part 2 of 3: Put the Spring Onions on the Windowsill
Step 1. Choose a container
Storing spring onions in water or soil at room temperature will ensure that they continue to grow. If you want to keep them in water, you will need a glass or jar that is tall and heavy enough to be able to keep them upright. If you want to keep them in potting soil, you will need a flowerpot that can stand on the windowsill and that is at least 6 inches deep.
Spring onions stored in water or soil on the windowsill last a long time. Choose one of the two methods based on your personal preference
Step 2. Prepare the container
If you have chosen a glass, fill it with 3-5 cm of water. As with the refrigerator method, this allows the roots to absorb water and, therefore, keep the vegetable hydrated. If you have chosen a pot, fill it with at least 12-13 cm of potting soil. By doing this you can plant them at a depth that allows them to stand upright.
Step 3. Place the spring onions in water or soil
Put the vegetables in the container full of water on the side from which the roots come out. If, on the other hand, you have decided to plant them in the soil, place them on the side of the roots and then crush the earth around to ensure that they remain upright.
Plant the spring onions in the soil at a distance of 5 cm from each other
Step 4. Place the container on the windowsill or in another location exposed to sunlight
These vegetables need sunlight to continue growing. Place the container or jar in a sunny spot for 6-7 hours a day.
- Unlike onions stored in the refrigerator, those that receive sunlight continue to grow. When stored in the refrigerator, they do not grow any further.
- A sunny kitchen window sill is typically a great place to store spring onions. It is also a way to remember to use them when you are cooking something.
Step 5. From time to time change the water or water the soil
Vegetables stored outside the refrigerator need some attention. As for spring onions preserved in water, be sure to change it from time to time; this will ensure that mold does not accumulate on its surface. If you have chosen to store the spring onions in soil, be sure to water it when it starts to dry out.
The spring onions should be kept in a moist, not soaked soil
Step 6. Use the green part but leave the root part intact
Spring onions stored outside the refrigerator continue to grow. If you need it, cut the new green part with the help of scissors, leaving the white one intact. By doing so, they will continue to grow back indefinitely.
If some sections of the green part have turned brown and dried out, just cut them off or leave them. Once the green part is cut, the tips will tend to turn brown and the vegetables will throw out new green shoots
Part 3 of 3: Wrap the Spring Onions in Moist Absorbent Paper
Step 1. Remove any wrapping from the spring onions
They are often sold in plastic packaging or are held together with rubber bands. Remove any kind of wrapping so they stay loose.
Eliminating the package will make it easier to take the quantity you need; in addition, the possibility that the vegetables are damaged due to friction with the rubber bands will be reduced to a minimum
Step 2. Wrap the spring onions in a damp paper towel
To keep them firm it is good to keep them moist. Wrapping them in a slightly wet sheet of absorbent paper will ensure that they receive the moisture they need without however wetting them to the point of starting to rot.
To make sure that the absorbent paper sheet is not too wet, you can wrap them in a dry sheet of paper and sprinkle a little water on it
Step 3. Place the spring onions with the paper towel in a plastic bag
To keep them moist, it is best to put them in a plastic bag. By doing so, the moisture created by the wet absorbent paper sheet will not disperse in the refrigerator.
You can place the plastic bag around the spring onions in a soft way. It does not need to be hermetically sealed
Step 4. Put the bag in the refrigerator
The vegetable compartment is the best place to store these vegetables. However, since you put them in the plastic bag, you can store them anywhere in the refrigerator.
