One of the many cooking tips I’ve learned over years is that the more uniform the size of the food you are cooking, the more evenly it cooks,and the more control you have over the texture. Thus, the better the result of the final dish. One of the many foods this applies to is onions. I know they may not be the first thing you think of, but they should be…at least one of the first. Onions are a power food. They add flavor and can add great texture if you execute them correctly. Because they can make or break a dish, I’ll show you the fastest, easiest way to dice an onion so all the pieces are uniform and you know they will all cook evenly.
1. Cut both ends off the onion.
2. Score a line down the side from end to end with your knife. That will make it easy to peel the outer skin right off.
3. Stand the onion on one of the flat ends. Cut the onion directly in half.
4. Lay the onion down on the side you just cut so the striated lines are horizontal to you.
5. Proceed to slice the onion into strips trying to maintain the shape of the halves.
6. Turn the onions so now the slices are horizontal to you. Slice the onion the other direction.
7. Repeat with the other half.
8. Presto. We changed an onion to a perfectly proportioned pile of onion in under a minute.
Tip: You are not supposed to store onions in the refrigerator because they lose their flavor over time, but if you place an onion in the fridge the night before you need to use it, it will cut down on on the tear inducing aroma. That way you won’t need to sport your son’s swimming goggles every time onions make an appearance for dinner.
We put ours in the freezer about a half-hour before cutting. (Mainly because I usually don’t remember the night before that I’ll need to dice one, LOL.) Thanks for the tip!
Love it! I need to remember that as my brain doesn’t always work 24 hours in advance either! Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you for this as I’ve been slicing onions wrong for years.. lol!
The trick I use when cutting onions is breathing through my mouth instead of my nose. No tears (:
Isn’t it funny how the most insignificant tips can make our lives so much easier?!? I’ll have to try the breathing through the mouth thing! Thanks for stopping by and also for the tip!
Oooh, I’ll have to try this next time! Chewing mint gum while slicing helps too. 🙂
Another trick….putting a little water on your face before you cut.
Whaaa? What an interesting tip! It’s worth a shot! Thanks for stopping by
I top and tail the onion, halve it, peel, quickly discard peel and ends, then rinse onion under cold tap before slicing. Never cry.
That’s awesome. I’ll give it a shot. Thanks!
After you put the onion halfs on their sides, cut slits about 3/8 inch of so apart starting very close to the bottom uncut edge and extending all the way to the top cut edge. Then when you make the slices, it will already be diced. You don’t have to worry about holding everything together to do the dicing.
Love it!
And when you get done, rub your hands on your faucet to remove the smell.
I’ve seen those stainless steel bars to remove smell, but I never thought about just rubbing it on the sink! Thanks for the tip!