A few years ago my husband and I took a date night cooking class called Knife Skills 101. We learned how to de-bone a chicken, julienne, chop, how to hold a knife correctly and tons of other skills. The one thing that has stuck the most with me is a tip the chef shared during the class that was by chance, how to cut onions and not cry. Our Chef used to work in the prep kitchen on the Food Network for Emeril and she swears by it and now I do too.
I have tried all the wives tales about holding a match in your mouth, chewing gum, and getting them cold first, none of that ever worked for me!The trick at the end of this post has never failed me.
Peel your onion and cut it in 1/2 through the root so that both halves will have part of the root attached. This will hold your onion together while you dice it.
Peel the outer skin off and place it on your cutting board with the flat side facing down. We use a Boos wooden cutting board
so it won’t dull our knives as fast. We swear by them. To keep your onion in place, lay your palm on top of the onion and hold the knife parallel to the cutting board. Slice layers into the onion stopping just before the root. Now cut your onion horizontal to the cutting board. Again only cut back far enough so that you don’t cut through the root of the onion.
Finally, cut horizontal across the face of the onion and you will have a perfect dice without your onion falling all over the place leading to much frustration and maybe some words you should not say. Now you can cut onions with a smile!
With the secret to cut onions without crying I can now cut up onions in bulk! I just cut up 10 onions and 3 bell peppers and didn’t shed a tear! I measure them out in 1 cup freezer bags to use in
soups, stews, and other
recipes.
So I’m sure you’re wondering jus when I’m going to show you how to cut onions without crying right? It’s as simple as a candle! I know it sounds too good to be true but try it the next time you cut an onion, I promise you will never forget it! What’s the science behind this? The flame takes care of the gas in the onion so it never reaches your eyes. You just have to remember to light it before you start cutting and keep it close to the cutting board but I hope you will now be tear free and happy to chop the onions when someone asks.
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