Onions are a staple of our kitchens and a foundational ingredient in nearly every cuisine across the globe. As such, we often stock up on onions in bulk for our cooking. But while these hardy vegetables can be stored for a long time, they can go through some changes as they age that might give you pause before cooking with them. But not all changes are bad or dangerous, so before you throw your onions away, check our handy tips below!
How to select a good onion
How to Cut an Onion
How do I know if an onion is bad?
Onions, while known as a stinky vegetable to begin with, will give you a definitive odor that indicates they are bad. Fresh onions will always smell of onion, even strongly, but bad onions will smell like rot or compost, or have a sulfurous, acrid smell that is a good indication things have gone off. If they smell like garbage, put them in the garbage. If you see green or brown powdery mold on the onion, discard the onion, since those spores can get into the bulb, even if you peel away the exterior.
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Is it safe to eat an onion with a brown layer?
Sometimes an onion might feel and smell totally fine, but when you cut into it, you see that one or two of the rings have gone brown and might be a bit mushy or slimy. While not appealing, this layer is not an indication that the whole onion is bad, and it is not dangerous to the rest of the bulb. As long as it does not have that intense rotting smell, you can safely remove the affected layers and continue to use the parts of the onion that are white.
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How do I know if an onion is moldy?
On the outside of an onion, mold is usually green or black and can be either powdery or sticky. On cut onions, mold will more likely appear as thin, white, threadlike spores. In either case, moldy onions should be discarded, as they are not safe to eat even after cooking.
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