Try This Trick

• You can use onions to keep half-eaten avocados fresh. This may even preserve avocados better than sprinkling them with lemon juice, storing them in plastic wrap or leaving the seed inside. Fill a plastic container with the avocado and several pieces of onion. You can store it like this for several days. The onion smell should not permeate the thick skin of the avocado, but if you are sensitive to onions, use a milder variety such as red onion.

As They Ripen

• Until avocados ripen, it is best to store them outside the refrigerator in a cool, dry place. This is also the best storage place for onions. You can tell when an avocado is ripe if it gives in to slight pressure. if you want to temporarily slow the ripening process -- for example, if you know that you will be making guacamole for an upcoming party -- place an underripe avocado in the refrigerator and remove it a day or two before using it.

To Freeze or Not to Freeze

• You can also freeze avocados and onions together. There are a variety of methods for freezing avocados, including mashing the flesh with a squirt of lemon juice and freezing the avocado whole. To freeze an onion, chop it and place the pieces in an airtight container. Whenever you freeze raw vegetables, thaw them slowly in the refrigerator and, ideally, use them in a cooked dish that can hide any less-than-perfect texture. Freeze vegetables in individual-sized containers so that you can thaw them as needed.

Avoiding Onion Smells

• Avocados and onions make good roommates -- but if you want to ensure that what you smell on the onion stays on the onion, simply package it more thoroughly. Wrap a half-used onion in plastic wrap before placing it in an airtight container, double or triple wrap the onion or use multiple freezer bags.