Chopping an Onion

Chopping an Onion is one of the most common tasks we do as cooks. Used in almost every kind of cooking throughout the culinary world, A sauteed onion is the base for countless recipes. You might not know this, but there is a proper way to chop an onion so that you never shed a tear and you get consistently even dices every time. If you don't do it this way already, I assure you you'll never go back to any other method once you give it a try.

Step #1 – Get out a clean cutting board and a sharp knife. Cut the onion in half length ways and remove the papery exterior layer.

Step #2 – Slice the top tip of the onion off but make sure you leave the root in tact. The root is at the bottom end of the onion. The root not only helps keep the layers of the onion together as we dice but it’s when you cut through the root that the onion juices begins to bleed and that’s what cause our eyes to tear. There are many old wives tails about how to not tear up when chopping up an onion but this is the sure fire way to prevent it.

Step #3 – Firmly hold the onion and make two to three (Depending on the size of the onion) horizontal slices in the onion stopping just before you make it to the root of the onion.

Step #4 –Now make vertical slices through the onion from the top to the bottom. Again be sure to stop just before the root of the onion. Cutting all the way through at this point will cause the onion to fall apart. If both the horizontal and vertical cuts are done correctly the onion should still be holding together.

Step #5 – Slice the onion now starting from the flat cut side and ending at the root of the onion. Your end result should be a pile of perfectly diced onions ready to be included in your recipe. Trim the onion around the root and discard.