I'm not proud to admit it, but I'm just enough of a culinary snob that I would have never brought one of these kitschy onion-shaped keepers on my own. But my wiser-than-me Aunt Lou sent me one for Christmas and now I'm happy to report that I'm an Onion Saver convert. Read on for my review!
A few years ago, we did a survey on the Onion Saver and for the most part, our readers weren't too keen on the concept. Unitasker! you cried. What's wrong with plastic bags and wouldn't it be hard to clean? you wondered. But fans spoke up in its defense and I find I have to agree with them completely.
The Onion Saver works really well to contain odors and keep a cut onion fresh and moist, just like any well-sealed plastic container. But it's the shape that sets it apart for me. I can tell at a glance what's inside it without having to open the lid and the bright color keeps it from being lost in a crowded refrigerator. The Sur la Table website also mentions that it's a fun way to serve sliced onions at picnics.
Other things in its favor are that the Onion Saver is phthalate and BPA-free, which is not always the case with all plastics. It has often saved me from using plastic wrap and baggies, and it seems to keep onions fresher for a longer period of time. No mushy onion goo from a long-forgotten onion! And it washes up really easily.
There are also lemon, lime, red and green pepper, and tomato shaped containers. Truth be told, I don't use just onions in my onion container (its really great for avocados!) but it's still a really handy item. Plus, it makes me laugh every time I use it, and that counts for something.
The Onion Saver from Su la Table, $4.00.
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(Image: Sur la Table)
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I usually use a 1 pint translucent takeout container for opened onions. Keeps as long as an onion lasts in our house which is a few days.
I have this and while normally I'm against unitaskers, this is great. I find that too often tupperware containers pick up the onion smell. It actually screws shut so onion smells are contained. Also, it's super cheap so it's worth it.
Also, I bought mine at Kroger for 2.99 - same one.
Very cute, but a simple tupperware or sandwich ziploc baggie does just fine in this house. I've found forgotten bags of onions in the back of the fridge that are still in perfect condition that didn't stink up the fridge.
My mom has one of these and loves it--which is exactly why I've never wanted one. I usually just throw onions in an old cottage cheese container. I end up using the onions pretty quickly, so they don't get stinky. Never plastic baggies though--too wasteful. This post is making me re-think the onion saver tho ...
I love these! Cuts down on waste from plastic baggies (think green!) and doesn't stink up or waste my plastic containers that I need for so many other things.
My grandma has the onion and the pepper one. I dunno, it's just not for me. All my tupperware is clear so I don't have any mysteries about what is in them.
We also go through onions like they were water at my house. So any cut onion doesn't sit long in the fridge.
totally unnecessary. the small, round glasslock or pyrex containers do the same thing without absorbing any onion smell.
I have this and it really works! It's never on a shelf - either in my fridge, or in the dishwasher. Also avail. at BB&B too.. Even though other containers might work, this container is shaped to signal you what it is without thinking/looking
This is so funny. I just keep onion and avocado halves face down on a little plate or a plastic lid.
I would probably giggle too if I were to see one of these in the fridge.
Sounds fun! But I wish there was a way to be able to see the onion before having to open up the container. Just in case, for some crazy reason, it goes to hell inside!
I like all your pros. I use onions for almost every meal and seldom use the whole thing.
I had the same misgivings about this single donut carrier someone told me about and thought it was sooo silly until I got a peek at the ridiculous features. Now I have to have one.
http://www.strapya-world.com/categories/2789_5653.html
I have the lemon one and I love it. I've found that the leftover lemon doesn't deteriorate as fast as it did when I kept it in a little ziploc bag. In addition, because it's bright and doesn't squash, it's easily visible and doesn't get lost among the containers and bags in the fridge.
My husband thought it was the silliest unitasker when I bought it. But he's now become a convert!
Or you could just get a mesh bag of the *small* onions so as not to even *have* to save a cut one...
I always thought it looked silly too, but your point about its being easily visible makes sense. I've frequently forgotten about onion halves and cut into a second while one is sitting in the fridge. I think it would be easier to remember if I were the only one using the fridge, or if our fridge weren't so full, but we're a family of five. The fridge is full to the brim with produce to feed my hungry kids, and my husband frequently "rearranges" while he's looking for something.
I might find something like this useful - except that I never have a bit of onion left over. My onion-hating future brother-in-law is not a fan of my cooking, but no one else has complained. so far! :P
I hate onions. Don't like the smell of them, and when they're frying I have to leave the kitchen. I don't know why I'm sensitive to them, but there you go.
My stepmother could eat onions with every meal. We have one of these, and hands down it works perfectly. So what if it's a unitasker? It does its job well and I don't waste plastic containers that I could be using for leftovers just on onion bits. And really? Storage in the fridge is ...ta da...the same size roughly as just shoving a plain onion in there. Two thumbs up.
I don't think I've ever used less than a whole onion at once ....
I have one and use it constantly, it makes me smile everytime.
Given that I usually end up with half onions needing storage, i find the easiest and quickest way to store them is with plastic wrap; the trick is in the way you wrap it.
Get a large enough piece of wrap and cover the cut side, making complete surface contact. Bunch up the exces wrap on the other side and twist the onion. This should take up any slack around the onion and works like a make-shift shrink wrap. Take the tail of twisted wrap and spin IT into a little pigtail--the friction on this is enough to hold the whole thing sealed.
This completely cuts off oxygen to the surface of the onion, so it keeps extremely well. (There's still oxygen inside any regular container.)
I couldn't believe it actually worked! My mom got me one for Christmas and I scoffed (in my head of course). I used to triple or quadruple wrap onions in the fridge - glass bowl, plastic wrap, put that in a freezer bag, then sometimes into another bag. Or like the above commenter, making sure that the entire surface is touching the plastic wrap. But that still never sufficed for me. I can't stand opening the refrigerator for breakfast and getting slapped in the face by an onion. So, to my super sensitive sniffer, this works!
Maybe its just me but whenever I cook I either use whole onions worth in my cooking or chop up leftovers and freeze to use quick when I need it. I don't think I've ever had leftover onion/tomatoes/ etc.