How to you chop your onions?

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

So this is going to sound totally mad, but I was taught a really easy way of cutting an onion to any variation of 'chopped' that you could possibly want, but I have never come across anyone else who seems to know this method. It was taught to me by my secondary school cookery teacher - which was about the only useful thing I ever learnt from her (other than to dodge flying saucepans - she had a temper!)..


Basically, keeping the onion whole, skin it. Then cut off the top... sounds ok so far.
Leaving the root on, cut the onion in half, through the root.

Now slice as thinly as you need, laterally towards the root, but not into the root or out of the onion. It still needs to be an entire half onion that holds itself together... with me so far? The number of slices you put in here will control how finely chopped the onion is....

Next rotate the onion 90 degrees and slice it, (holding the edges together so that is does not splay open). Again, how finely you slice the onion (as if you were making onion rings/halves) will control exactly how finely chopped the onion it.

With practice and a sharp knife, you can chop an onion really finely in a matter of moments. Even my brother who has trained as a chef has not come across this method...

 

[GadgetGuy]

I find myself using my Chinese cleaver a lot for chopping jobs, especially onions!

It does a superb job. And I cut up my onions in pretty much the same way!!

 

[Food4thought]

I always remove the skin first, then I cut off the top and the base, cut the onion in half and slice it first one way and then the other.

I shall try this method with the skin on but I don't really need my chopped onions to be too fine. A roughly chopped onion works well in the type of dishes I cook.

 

[Sweetkymom]

I hate the thought of onions getting on my hands because it is so hard to get the smell off even after washing your hands a dozen of times! Anyways, I slice the top and bottom of the onion first. I then make a mark down the middle of the onion to break the skin and peel it off the onion. I then make several slices of the onion so I can thrown it into my chopper. Sometimes, I just do a rough chopping by hand because they break down when cooked in meals anyways.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Lemon or baking powder should help get it off.

 

[tangela]

So I didn't find out about this recently until I was cutting onions, sobbing over them and thinking there should be an easier way to cut it without crying my eyes out.

So you cut the top and bottom of an onion and peel off the brown skin as usual, and cut it in half. You then have to cut it horizontally 2 ways and vertically 1 way. It's really hard for me to describe it without actually doing it myself. But if you do this and do it right, you'll have nicely diced onions (and you'll just have to chop it a little bit more if you want it to be finer).

Oh and if you hold a spoon on your tongue it helps with the burn from the onion. I don't know how this works scientifically but hey, it works!

 

[imagenscape]

I usually use my vegetable chopper to chop onions. That way I don't have to mess with geting anything on my hands and my eyes starting to water.

 

[Athenagdlyt]

I learned cutting onions through a cooking show hosted by a Chinese chef whose name escapes me. Anyway, it is almost the same as the one described by the TS. I cut the onion in half with skin on from top to bottom, remove the skin, and slice in strips in the same direction as the membranes, leaving the area near the root untouched. I would then cut horizontally to finish the dicing until I reach the root part. The chef said that this style of cutting keeps the strong essence from coming out. This also lessens the tendency to make you cry while slicing.

 

[GadgetGuy]

And speaking of chopped onions, I use THESE (onion goggles) to help keep the acidic juices from getting into and burning my eyes!!
The work pretty well!! Who wants to have their eyes burnt while chopping onions?!!

 

[Ella]

My father used to cook for a living and had chopped onions for over 40 years. He always took off the outer layer and sliced the bottom and top, then cut it in half (or quarters) and either rinsed it under hot water or soaked them in a bowl of warm water to get rid of the acid the onions give off. This reduces any tears and sometimes you can be tear free.
Then once quartered would finely slice them in their quarters, turning the quarter if necessary.

 

[Jade]

I see this method a lot in cooking shows and I've tried it myself, and I agree that it really does make chopping onions a lot easier and not to mention that the result is a lot more uniform which helps with even cooking and a more presentable plate. I've started doing something similar with garlic bulbs.

 

[DancingLady]

I cut the in half, then slice almost al the way the other way so I still have an end to hold onto, then into the little pieces from there. It's a trick I learned on TV and it really speeds up chopping time which is crucial for my survival. Some onions sting so bad I have to leave the room because my eyes hurt so much I want to scream. I have very sensitive eyes though.

 

[rah]

I hate the thought of onions getting on my hands because it is so hard to get the smell off even after washing your hands a dozen of times! Anyways, I slice the top and bottom of the onion first. I then make a mark down the middle of the onion to break the skin and peel it off the onion. I then make several slices of the onion so I can thrown it into my chopper. Sometimes, I just do a rough chopping by hand because they break down when cooked in meals anyways.

an easy way to remove the onions smell from your hands is to use salt.rub it on your hands before you wash them.

 

[rah]

View attachment 364

And speaking of chopped onions, I use THESE (onion goggles) to help keep the acidic juices from getting into and burning my eyes!!
The work pretty well!! Who wants to have their eyes burnt while chopping onions?!!

my trick is to first soak the onions in water for about 3min before i peel and chop them.works great for me.