I cry just looking at an onion.
Cutting onions. It’s so brutal for me that it’s a statement all by itself, no other words necessary. Just think about cooking anything that starts with a diced onion…ugh. I’d love this to be a post on sexy knife skills to dice the perfect onion but truthfully, I’m still pretty crap at this step. No matter how many times my lovely chef fiancé tries to teach me his awesome onion cutting methods (seriously, his knife skills are like foreplay for foodies), I still find myself crying, fumbling and cursing my way through it. I cut, I weep. End of story.
Well, now that we’ve established my complete ineptitude in the onion arena, here’s what I’m proposing: I’ll tell you the tricks I’ve tried (none of which actually prevent me from looking like I just re-watched Titanic) and you tell me yours. That’s right, I’m proposing we play the onion chopping equivalent of grade school “doctor.” I’ll go first:
1) Place the onion in the freezer for 10 minutes or the fridge for an hour before cutting.
2) Burn a candle near your cutting board while you work.
3) Learn to cut faster to avoid exposure time.
4) Make someone else cut the onions.
To justify the existence of this post, here are a couple of cooking tips: Use a very sharp knife, the cleaner the cut the less tear-inducing juices will be released. When frying them, start your onions in room temperature oil rather than heating the oil first. If salting, add salt from the very beginning, don’t wait until the end. Okay, I’m not convinced starting them in room temperature oil changes anything. Your turn.♥
A scuba diving mask keeps the vapours out
hahaha! that’s hard core
Put your sunglasses on!
This may or may not be a valid tip, but I wear glasses and usually find onions don’t bother me too much. I feel like my eyes might be somewhat shielded from the evil vapours!
good call. plus, you’ll look cool 😉
Alright so one theory is to run the onion under water as you cut it but who can cut well when it’s in the sink? What makes more sense to me is to have a fan blow air at the onion and away from you. These are both pretty strange tho, yeah? Well I found the best one yet – to wear swimming goggles while cutting it. I mean it makes sense.. but I’d look too crazy it might not be worth it. If you try it though, I need a photo.
Lots of love.
photo required, agreed
PS. There are even goggles designed just for onion-chopping. It’s a goer!
– You can pass the onion underwater before cutting it (or when it’s cutting in two).
– Regularly soak the knife blade into ice water during cutting the onion.
– Wear goggles (I mean “lunettes de plongées”, I don’t how you call it in english), but make sure to be alone in the kitchen 😉
– I also often heard “une astuce de grand-mère” : hold a lucifer between your teeth, the sulfur end outside. I never tried it.
– Stick your tongue out seems to be a good method too, as onion particles react with the first encountered mucosa, I never tried this one either.
I can’t promise it will work for sure, but that’s what I can share.
I’m sure your tip n°4 works pretty well.
wow! you’ve got a ton of tricks! love it
Try to set a match between your front teeth and let the cold water run from the tap it helps.
PS I love your blog I have tried the Banana Chip Baked Oatmeal and I love it and I usually don’t like oatmeal.
cool! sadly in Cali can’t be running tap water…
ooh, i didn’t know that, but sometimes it helps just with the match between your front teeth. (:
I’ve recently tried chewing gum while cutting the onion, and it’s worked for me. I pop in a piece, chew a few times, then start my cutting. So far no tears. 🙂
Going to try it!
My grandma used to cut onions with a really sharp knife while she stared at tap water run
That hazmat suit might also not be a bad idea.. if you really wanna be safe.
So, did you try some of these tips ? Which one is the best ?
Im new to this amazing blog and just saw this post.
I have a super power that allows my eyes not to tear up while cutting onions (evil laugh), but I thought I could consult my grandmother who turns out to be an amazing Turkish chef for over 70 years!
Ive never heard, or tried this before but apparently wiping the cuttingboard with viniger helps a lot. Perhaps you can give this one a try?
Another tip: cut the root in a circle of one centimeter around it, while forming a cone when cutting.
It is then possible to cut his onions taking his time
sorry for my english