"Life is like an onion: you peel it off one layer at a time,
and sometimes you weep."
and sometimes you weep."
One of my plans for this blog, was to share cooking/kitchen tips. I have seen MANY ways of cutting different foods and I will share some of those in time. My very favorite cutting method is the one that follows... the DREADED ONION! This is a tip that I picked up from Chef Brie and is by far, the best onion cutting method I have come across!
1. Lay the onion on its side, on a cutting board.
2. Cut off the LEAF end of the onion. This will be the ONLY cut you will have to make in which the onion is not sitting flat & stable on the cutting board. From this point forward, your onion will always be sitting on a flat side, making cutting safer & easier!
3. Set the onion on the flat end that you just cut. (Root side up)
4. Cut the onion in half, root side to leaf side.
5. Peel off the outer skin (& next layer if papery), leaving the ROOT intact. Lay the onion on its side. By leaving the root on the onion, it holds all the slices together, making the onion easier & safer to hold while cutting. It also helps you get a beautiful, even dice!
6. Slice from cut off leaf end to about 1/2" from root end.
7. Continue making equal distance slices around the circumference of the onion. DO NOT cut all the way to the root.
8. Make slices from the cut end toward the root in equal distances.
9. Stop cutting when you are about 1/2" from the root.
10. If you have enough onion left, you can turn the root end on it's side and make radial cuts out from the root.
11. Then make a few more slices until you are left with only the core & root.
12. Toss the root, cut the other half of your onion & use your perfectly diced onion pieces!
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~You will be able to adjust the cuts in steps 6, 7, & 8 depending on how big you want your dice.
~If your recipe calls for onion "petals", make wider cuts in step 7, then simply cut off the root end. Perfectly easy "Onion Petals"!
~If your recipe calls for slices, skip steps 6 & 7 and finish with step 8.
I have broken this process down into quite a few steps, but once you have it down, you can chop onions quickly & like a pro!
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Now, for the age old question... how to cut onions without crying! With the above cutting method, you will be able to cut an onion so quickly, you will have very little crying time, but... I do know of several tips...
~Cut onions next to a gas flame on a stove.
~Cut onions under water.
~Wear kitchen goggles.
and the method that works very well for me... a tip from my daughter-in-law...
~Breath ONLY through your mouth while cutting onions!
Do you have any "no-cry" onion tips? I would love for you to share them!
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