Cut Onion Safety

Cut Onion Safety - Top view closeup of ripe organic yellow peeled onion cut into rings and placed on white marble tabletop

I was dehydrating some diced onions overnight on my patio. When I got up I noticed the dehydrator was not running and the onions were not dry as we had a power outage overnight.

Will it be safe to go ahead and dehydrate them? I was going to make onion powder. I hate to lose all the onions and the work but I'm not sure they would be safe.

food-safety


Best Answer

Onions shouldn't degrade that quickly at room temperature anyhow, even if they weren't partially dried. This food safety and preservation site specifically addresses inadequately dried foods:

Check containers within seven to 10 days to see if moisture is present. If you see moisture, remove food and redry at 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. If food is moldy, discard it, throw away the plastic freezer bag or sterilize the jar.

So, if your onions were partially dried, it should be safe to continue drying them. If they weren't very dry yet, I'd treat them as fresh onions at room temperature, which should also be stable enough not to go bad overnight.

(By the way, I assume part of the motivation for this question may have to do with a well-known myth which was circulating a few years back about cut onions "attracting" bacteria. This is certainly false, and here's a food scientist's explanation in more detail. Unless you sliced the onions with a highly contaminated knife, there should be no danger.)



Pictures about "Cut Onion Safety"

Cut Onion Safety - Unrecognizable female cook slicing onion on cutting board at table with blurred tomatoes and toasted buns in kitchen during cooking process
Cut Onion Safety - Close-up Shot of Red Onions
Cut Onion Safety - Unrecognizable woman cutting fresh tomato on cutting board while standing at table with ingredients and stove near female cook stirring sauce in pan



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Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Karolina Grabowska, Katerina Holmes, MART PRODUCTION, Katerina Holmes

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