Stringing Onions

The traditional way of storing onions is to string them together and hang them up. This is quite easy to do.

Ensure that the onions have been left to dry and ripen but still have pliable stems. Remove any loose outer skins and and trim off the roots. If necessary cut the stem to about 4 inches (10cm).

The length of the string is not really important but remember that the more onions that you place n the string the heavier it will be - and you will have to lift it, to hang it up. I have found that a length of string about 5ft (1.6m) long is about right though.

stringing onions 1 Fold the string in half and tie a knot at the loose ends to fasten them together.

stringing onions 2 To make working a bit easier I usually hang the string on the back of a door using a hook bent out of a piece of wire coat hanger but you can hang it on whatever is convenient to give a suitable working height.

stringing onions 3 Twist and form a loop in the bottom end of the string and place the neck of an onion in the loop. Tighten the loop around the neck. You will find that the onions own weight is sufficient to hold it in place. Cut off any excess stem to leave about 1 inch (2cm).

stringing onions 4 Add a second onion by weaving the stem around the string as shown left. Push the stem downwards and trim off any excess stem, leaving about 1 inch (2cm)

stringing onions 5 The third onion is woven in from the opposite side of the string in the same way. As you push each onion down it will lock the previous onion in place.

Continue adding onions from alternate sides until you reach the desired length. If you have too much string left at the end, simple knot it at the required length to form a smaller loop and cut off the excess.

Hang in a cool dry place to store.