Tomato, onion, and cucumber slices against a white background.

How To Correctly Store Sliced Tomatoes, Onions, And Cucumbers

NEWS

By ELIAS NASH

Chopped tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers on a wooden surface.
Tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers have discrete properties that make them tricky to store. Once they’re sliced, things get even trickier, and proper storage becomes crucial.
Tomato slices on a plate.
Sliced tomatoes dry out and shrivel at room temperature, so refrigerating them is the only option. However, your fridge can degrade the fruit's texture so use them within two days.
Hands slicing a tomato on a cutting board.
Make sure to only cut as many slices as you need, leave the remnant of the tomato in one piece, cover the cut side with plastic wrap, and store it in an airtight container.
Onion slices.
Cut onions must be refrigerated, but they can infect other items with their odor. To prevent that, put cut onions in a plastic bag, and then put the bag in an airtight container.
Half an onion sitting on a wooden surface.
Stored like this, cut onions can last about a week in the fridge. Note that you can keep them in the freezer for up to a few months, but they will lose their crispness when thawed.
Cucumber slices on a wooden surface.
Cut cucumbers should always be kept in the fridge, but they’re also sensitive to extreme cold. Hence, it's best to store them near the front of the fridge or in a crisper drawer.
Thin cucumber slices in a glass bowl.
To prevent moisture loss, cover cut cucumbers with water in a container and seal it. They can last a week in the fridge this way, and it helps to change the water every two days.
Halved and sliced cucumbers against a white background.
Store cut cucumbers away from ethylene-emitting produce (to keep them from ripening and spoiling faster) and items with strong odors (to keep them from absorbing unwanted smells).