Many housewives, trying to keep vegetables fresh for as long as possible, instinctively send all supplies to the refrigerator. However, onions, which are one of the basic ingredients in cooking, react extremely negatively to cold. Once in an environment with low temperature and high humidity, this vegetable begins to rapidly deteriorate, losing its beneficial properties and taste.
An attempt to extend the life of onions with the help of cold often leads to the opposite effect: instead of crispy and aromatic heads, you get a soft, slippery mass with an unpleasant odor. Understanding the biological processes occurring inside the vegetable during cooling will help you avoid common mistakes and preserve the crop until the next season without loss.
In this article we will analyze in detail the physiological reasons why low temperatures are detrimental to onion peels and pulp, and also consider the optimal conditions for keeping it in a city apartment or private house.
The influence of low temperature on the structure vegetable
Onion is a plant that in its natural habitat has adapted to storage in dry and cool, but not cold, conditions. When you place the onion in the refrigerator, where the temperature usually ranges from +2 to +5 degrees Celsius, a process known as The cellular structure of the vegetable cannot withstand such stress, which leads to rupture of membranes inside the tissues. cold damage. The cellular structure of the vegetable cannot withstand such stress, which leads to rupture of the membranes inside the tissues.
As a result of this process, the pulp becomes soft, flabby and watery. If you cut such an onion, you will notice that the inner rings have lost their elasticity and began to delaminate. Cold turns the starch contained in onions into sugars, which changes not only the texture, but also the flavor profile of the product, making it less spicy and more cloying, although this effect is short-lived before rotting begins.
A sharp change in temperature is especially critical. If you take cooled onions out of the refrigerator and leave them on the kitchen counter, condensation will immediately form on the surface. This moisture is instantly absorbed into the dry scales, creating an ideal environment for the growth of bacteria. Thermal shock destroys the protective barriers of the vegetable, making it vulnerable to any external influences.
⚠️ Attention: Even short-term storage of onions in the refrigerator (for example, overnight) can trigger irreversible tissue degradation processes that will accelerate the deterioration of the vegetable after returning to room conditions.
It is also worth noting that different varieties of onions react to cold differently, but none of the common types is intended for long-term storage at temperatures below +7 degrees. Sweet varieties spoil faster than hot ones, as they contain more moisture and sugar, which are a breeding ground for microorganisms.
The problem of high humidity and condensation
The main enemy of dry vegetables, which include onions, is excess moisture. The humidity level in the refrigerator compartment is much higher than in a well-ventilated area. The husk, which under normal conditions serves as a reliable barrier protecting the juicy internal scales from drying out and infections, quickly becomes wet in the refrigerator.
Wet husks lose their protective properties and begin to rot. This process quickly spreads to the upper fleshy scales. If you store onions in a plastic bag inside the refrigerator, the situation is aggravated many times over. The bag creates a greenhouse effect, completely blocking air circulation and accumulating moisture released by vegetables.
Under such conditions, the onion “suffocates”. The lack of fresh air leads to the accumulation of ethylene and carbon dioxide, which accelerates tissue aging. In addition, in a closed, humid space, bacteria multiply at cosmic speed, turning healthy heads into a slimy mass in a matter of days.
☑️ The temperature in the storage area is above +10 degrees
There is a myth that storage in the freshness zone (zero chamber) saves the situation. However, even there the humidity is often too high for onions. The only option for using a refrigerator is to briefly place peeled and chopped onions in an airtight container, but even in this case they should be consumed within 1-2 days.
Risk of the spread of mold and rot
Mold spores are constantly present in the air, but their active growth requires specific conditions. The refrigerator, unfortunately, often becomes an incubator for various types of mold, especially if spoiled food is stored there. Onions placed in such an environment become easy prey for fungi.
The most common problems encountered when storing onions in the cold:
- 🍄 Gray rot: Manifests itself in the form of a gray fluffy coating on the neck of the bulb, which quickly penetrates inside, softening the tissue.
- 🦠 Bacterial rot: Causes an unpleasant odor, turns the pulp into mush and can spread to other foods in the refrigerator.
- 🌫️ Black mold: Often affects the outer scales, making them black and brittle, after which the fungus penetrates deeper.
The danger of mold lies not only in the damage to the onion itself. Spores are easily carried by air currents inside the refrigerator and can settle on dairy products, meat, fruits and prepared foods. This creates a risk of cross-contamination and can lead to spoilage of other stocks.
If you notice even a small area of mold on an onion, it is strictly forbidden to store it together with other vegetables. In refrigerator conditions, where the temperature promotes conservation, but does not stop biological processes, infection can occur latently. Externally, the onion may look normal, but inside the process of rotting has already begun.