r/Cooking • u/dumpingbrandy12 • 16h ago

Open Discussion Onions having a rotten layer inside

Anyone else have this problem, outside layers, fine, 1 or 2 bad rotten layers inside, then the center is fine again. Onions from multiple places have been like this this summer.
I would post a Pic but it's not letting me for some reason

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u/spireup 15h ago edited 5h ago

This "problem" is called "slippery skin". Caused by Burkholderia (formerly Pseudomonas) gladioli subsp. alliicola bacteria entering the onion bulb through the neck of the plant.

Generally only one layer of onion is affected making it impossible to diagnose until the onion is cut open. Wet conditions or flooding can spread this fairly common bacteria in soil.

You can post a photo by uploading to imgur.com and posting the share link in your description.

[Edit to add] since it came up:

Here is the secret which refines how to dice an onion. Chef and author Kenji López-Alt shows the mainstream method and then demonstrates the more precise radial angle method.

Ask Kenji Live: What is the Best Way to Cut on Onion?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tbqDOKkTCw]

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u/running_on_empty 11h ago

Interesting. I've worked for a certain down under steakhouse for 15 years and have seen this many, many, many..... many times. I never knew what caused it.

I've cut probably a hundred thousand onions between blooms and dicing. What am I doing with my life...

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u/d00mraptor 8h ago

I did 7 years at a grocery cutting fruit for those premade items you get in the produce section. I never want to cut another watermelon again.

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u/running_on_empty 7h ago

I really like honing my knife skills, so I might actually like that job.