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When the holidays roll around, I try to buy as much as I can in bulk. Not only does purchasing large bags of sugar, potatoes, and onions reduce costs, but it also saves me many trips to the store and, therefore, a lot of precious time.
Recently, however, when reaching for an onion, I found the remaining half of the bag had begun to sprout. That gave me pause. I wondered if it is safe to use sprouted onions. Hoping I wouldn’t have to toss the rest of my onion stash, I reached out to Martin Bucknavage, a food safety specialist at the Penn State Department of Food Science, to get a clear answer.
Are Sprouted Potatoes Safe To Eat?
Sprouted onions are indeed safe to eat, says Bucknavage—provided they are not mushy or rotten. If the onion is browning on the inside, looks to be decomposing, or smells like rotten food, those are signs to toss it. Other than that, any onion, whether it may have a little green core or a full sprout coming out the top, is OK to use.
Can You Use Sprouted Onions Cooked or Raw?
While sprouted onions are safe for consumption, there is one caveat: A sprouted onion’s flavor may be stronger and more bitter, Bucknavage warns. For that reason, he says, “Many chefs prefer to cook them in dishes that can handle the stronger flavors.” So it might be best to avoid raw applications, where a sprouted onion can overwhelm other flavors in the dish.
In fact, as Bucknavage suggests, you should be able to get plenty of mileage out of a sprouted onion. I’m thinking of all the possibilities for my half-bag now: sprouted French onion soup, sprouted onion tart, sprouted onion jam!
What About Sprouted Shallots and Garlic?
Bucknavage assures me that other alliums, such as shallots and garlic, are safe to eat when sprouted. “Just make certain the sprouts are not rotten and they are not mushy,” he says. You should always store alliums in a dry, cool space and, says Bucknavage, “remove outer layers prior to use.” Before chopping, dicing, or slicing your allium, remove and rinse the sprout.
