Good Lifestyle

Onions: Either you love them or you hate them. The root vegetable, which comes in all shapes, colors and sizes, can have a particular taste andyou cry when you cut them in themBut onions are often a leading ingredient in the kitchen. Think about it: they are essential in salads, the vegetables to be mixed and the onion rings, to name a few. It is therefore important to know how to properly store onions to avoid deterioration.

That said, we checked with theNational Onion Association andDr. Gitanjali KunduBrookdale Community College of Lincroft Assistant Professor, New Jersey, for the best storage onion practices, especially because the ingredient is often bought in bulk.

Here's all we learned about how to store onions - both uncut and cut - the right way.

Find a dark, cool and well ventilated place to store non-cut onions.

Torn on what to do with this big bag of onions when you come back from the grocery store? Pass the refrigerator. René Hardwick, Director of Public Relations and Industry for the National Onion Association, suggests keeping all the onions bulb in a "dark and cool place: like a pantry, a basement or a garage, which can give onions a shelf life up to four weeks.

Dr Kundu also points out that a dry and well-ventilated place is very important because "the mold, which is a fungus, can not push in dry environments because they need moisture for growth". The result? Deleted deterioration. In fact, according to a2016 studyIt is ideal for storing non-cut onions at a temperature of 40-50 ° F.

It is also imperative to store non-cut onions in a mesh bag or an open basket rather than a plastic bag because plastic bags do not have adequate ventilation to help onions last longer.
But what happens if you store non-cut onions in the refrigerator rather than in a dry and ventilated area? Because the refrigerator has little ventilation, cold conditions, wet "trigger the growth of mold, they will be spoiled faster," says Dr. Kundu.

Have you ever noticed that your refrigerated onions become sappy, soggy and sweet earlier than you want? Indeed, plants store carbohydrates as a complex sugar called starch, and when stored in a fresh temperature, these complex starches are converted into simple sugar molecules. Dr. Kundu says, "Microorganisms, [such as the mold], the love of sugar because sugar gives them the energy to grow."

Once you cut off an onion, it is crucial to store remnants in the refrigerator.

When buying bulk onions, it is often difficult to use them all at a time. Although there are ways to be creative with the remains of onions (the caramelizing or throwing them with peppers and onions, for example), we often have the habit of storing a half-onion orDie cut onions For later use. But what is the best storage practice to avoid the deterioration of cut onions? Range them in the refrigerator.

RELATED: Easy, Healthy, 350 Calorie Recipe Ideas You can do at home.

According toUSDAWhole peeled onions have a shelf life of 10 to 14 refrigerated days, while dice cuts and onions typically described from 7 to 10 refrigerated days. It is recommended to store onions cut in a sealed container or plastic bag during the refrigerator.

So, why do we choose the refrigerator on a cool and dry place? Do you forget that these rumors that you should never eat an onion out of the refrigerator because of bacteria? Not true. On aArticle 2017 McGill"," Bacteria are not generated spontaneously. They must be present in one way or another to start. Cutting boards and dirty hands are a possible source, but the bacterium of food deterioration does not become suspended in the air; You need contact. "Basically, it means that your onions are safe to be stored and consumed at a later date, as long as you have not cut them on a cutting board that can be contaminated and that your hands were clean while you manipulate them.

Dr. Kundu explains: "It's like you have a cup, you can introduce germs and compromised zone can become infected faster .... it did not arrive at the onion now."
Although there are microorganisms inside the refrigerator, most of them can not multiply rapidly due to low metabolism at a temperature of 4 ° C. This leads to slowing the deterioration of Onion, it adds. "But if you had kept the onion uncut in the ambient temperature, it's a good place to push the mushrooms."

The cooked onions must also be stored in the refrigerator.

"Sometimes uncooked uncooked onions can allow the growth of toxin-producing bacteria such as enterohemorrhagium.Escherichia coli,Clostridium botulinum, etc., says Dr. Kundu.

So, why in cooked onion, but not believed?

"Because in raw onion, the active ingredients are there. Thus, when you cook onions, many antimicrobial compounds (including sulfuric acid) are reduced. Therefore, you find more than a bacterial growth. shooting. "

"Several toxin-producing bacteria can take resistant forms called endospores. Get rid of endospores is a challenge for the food industry because these structures are very resistant to heat and cooking," says Dr. Kundu adds. "So, what it means is that you have cooked the food thinking that you killed the bacteria, but the endospores can always be present. They behave like a dead bacterium, and entering the human body become Again alive and can still provoke a pathogenesis. "

That said, store cutaneous onions up to five days in a seal container in the refrigerator.

Here's how to know if your onions have spoiled.

If you practice good onion-storage habits, you will be a better adhesion on knowledge when your onions have spoiled. But there are some elements to search to help you decide whether or not you should discard the vegetable.

"Color change is the biggest proof of how you can tell an onion has become bad," Dr. Kundu said. "[Look] with gray spots, brown spots, black spots and these velvet cotton-cottance protrises."

This helps you see the deterioration of onions. "The mussels are better to grow on onions rather than on bacteria, because the molds like to grow in an acidic pH. We call mushroom acidophiles, which means microorganisms acidic magnets."

"Sometimes the presence of slime is also a sign representing microorganisms that have fed on cells and onion sugar," she adds.

Our best advice? If you notice a mold on your onion, just send it to the trash.

There may be health risks associated with the consumption of contaminated onions.

Back in 2012, there was an instance whereContaminated onions have been recalled. "There were cases where people thought there was a contamination ofListeria monocytogenes This could grow at the refrigerator temperature, "says Dr. Kundu."Listeria monocytogenes causes a fatal disease called listeriosis, which affects the immunocompromised population, which are people who have weak immune systems, such as pregnant women, infants, the elderly, people who have AIDS or people who have suffered a chemotherapy. This can be fatal for them. "

According toUp to date,Cladosporium,Alternaria,Epicoccum,Fusarium,Penicillium, andAspergillusThe common kinds of fungi can be found inside. "Exposure to mushrooms can cause harmful effects on health, including infections, hypersensitivity disorders and toxic / irritating effects of their by-products", reads the article. According toa study, toxins can also be associated with allergic incidents.

"Ingested in higher amounts, these mushrooms could be involved in diseases associated with toxin," says Dr. Kundu. "Some dangerous toxins produced by several species of fungi are mycotoxins, aflatoxin, fumonisin, ochratoxin, etc."

It is also important to note that last year,Noa confirmed Onions can not help heal the flu (yes, people really believed that!) And are not responsible forfood poisoning. PHEW!