video : You're Doing It All Wrong
How to Chop an Onion with Kate Ramos
By Meredith Arthur and Eric Slatkin
Your onion deserves better. And even, parallel slices are the way to clean onion geometry.
On The Insider:
Paula Abdul to "Judge" on New Show
related
+MORE
recipes
"Want more like this?" No, thank you.
A bit obnoxious.
Lol, cracks me up. Thanks for the pointers and for not taking yourselves too seriously.
Clever. Love the music and the graphics. A new and refreshing take on boring "How To"... videos.
I totally agree, bogachuka. I love CHOW's attitude -- it's what makes it different and special and FUN. (Like it says in the tagline.)
She's doing it all wrong. It's a great way to dice a potato but an onion is already composed of layers, making the horizontal cuts unnecessary and counterproductive. I don't know why they still teach that technique at cooking schools.
That knife edge could obviuosly use some attention as well.
kirkwood...I don't get what you mean. It seems to me that the layers you are talking about are curved. Exactly how would you do it if not this way?
Yes, the layers are curved. If the goal is to create cubes as close to true and as uniform as possible the horizontal cuts in the video are self defeating. Short of separating the layers, then julienne, then brunoise, one should begin by making longitudinal cuts similar to the video but a slight outward slant that graduates with each cut following the radius of the onion to vertical at the center of the onion and then continues to follow the radius of the onion to completion. Then you make your final vertical 90 degree crosscuts. If you wanted to get really anal about it you could also follow the radious for the final series of cuts as well.
1. Cut an onion in half, with the skin on it!
2. Peel the skin (doesn't that first step make this step MUCH easier?) Reserve the skins for the stock pot (makes for an even richer golden color in your poultry stocks)
3. remove the growth (not root) knob from first half
4. Make perpendicular VERTICAL cuts from the root end to the cut end, nice and even. Those horizontal cuts are entirely unnecessary unless you want "superfine" dice. When you cook, the layers of the onion are going to separate away from each other as it is.
5. Or, as stated in the above comments, you can get anal about it and try to follow the arc of the onion. I find that entirely unnecessary.
Who do you think you are, Paul Bocouse? Is Chucky T(rotter) looking over your shoulder and going to whine at you about your imperfect cuts?
6.Then, you can make parallel cuts from cut end to root end.
You could use a curved knife to do the horizontal cuts - of course, that would necessitate the purchase of an "onion knife" set at great cost to match the approximate radii of many different size onions. Doesn't Ken Shun make these?
I find the Ken Shun curved onion knives to be a little overpriced for a tool that really only has one specific use. I like to use a light gauge guitar string, attached to a coping saw handle. I find this tool really gives me the curved cuts I need to chop my onions up the right way! My dinner guests can really tell the difference, and appreciate the extra effort!
Of course, I cut my onion like that, but it never quite works for me. Partly because when making the final 90 degree cuts the sides splay out as I reach the back and they don't get cut. Not to mention still having the onion in pieces that I personally judge to be too large. I recognize the importance of onion as a flavoring, but biting into a piece of onion in just about anything is always unpleasant.
Lulz, Kirkwood and dinein are right. I do it dinein's way, and it's far easier. I tried horizontal cuts once, and it just makes a mess, and you're more likely to stab yourself.
As said however, for potatoes, it's ace.
I just want a tried and true way to cut the onion without weeping my way through the process. One way is to borrow a diving mask that fits over your nose and eyes - it really works! However, my kids are grown now - took their diving masks with them. And you look pretty darn funny with that thing on your face, especially if you're trying to impress someone with your cooking prowess. But don't know how impressive the dreary eyes and runny nose are either!!! Help!
barabara
The sulfur in the onion when combined with the enzymes of the onion after the cell walls are ruptured is what causes the gas that irritates your eyes. A couple of things you can do. First, be sure your knife is sharp! This causes less cell damage and less gas release. Second use fresh onions, they are less volatile. Third, refrigerate onions for an hour before cutting. Fourth, breath through your mouth when cutting. Hope this helps.
That actually makes a lot of sense. :)
Can you say Obsessive-Compulsive disorder? Watching this, my advice is, have the Bacitracin, Band-aids, and finger cots handy. You'll need them.
Wow! Finally a site the a can really relate to. I nologer need to feel ashamded for eating greasy and fatty bacon on occasion. I liked the white bubbles that appeared when it's cooking. I think I'll make some now with the window shades up and the lights on. Keep up the good work.
This video was made all wrong!
Although this is exactly the right way to dice an onion (and it's
fast, so less eye problems), it's not clear at all that the entire
half-onion is still all in one piece right up until the final vertical
slices. The close-ups are particularly bad because they miss
the entire essential part of the technique.
You should name this The Right way to chop your fingers. BUUU
I found the technique showed here in the Cordon Bleu official book, I saw Paul Bocuse doing the same, I found the same in the Culinary Institute of America book, Jamie Oliver, Ducasse, and to make a long history short, almost all professionals cut the onions acording the technique from the video. Well I cut my onions like this when I want it diced in even small pieces. And I 'll keep doing it.
Even if it's slightly tongue in cheek, I find this "wrong way/right way" stuff annoying. (Also, I haven't a clue what she's doing when she demonstrates the "wrong" way!)
All this talk about cutting onions is getting me nervous.
If I were to observe a prep chef, sous chef or line cook doing anything other than this precise method she shows, I would reprimand them, there is no better way to cut an onion. I cite 600 years of French Culinary styling.
Bravo! This replaces (i hope) a terrible Chowhound video onion dicing demonstration. The last time around the demonstrator's digits were so out there that I practically ran for the finger cots. This is the correct technique. Thanks for showing a responsible technique.
Kirkwood's all wrong on the horizontal cuts comment, is only wrong if you're not trying for uniformity. Irregular cuts are fine if you don't care about the mouth feel and cooking consistency of the finished dish. Do a side by side demo, and look at which pile is more uniform. Try your best on both techniques. Go to the extreme and demo all sizes from large dice to mince.
Other minutia:
Peel the onion whole. Cutting it in half adds more work (two objects to pick up and attend to rather than one), and use a pairing knife to peel the onion, not fingernails or a chef's knife. Why? Because eventually it'll be faster. The less handling and releasing, the faster. If you don't believe me, peel a 50# bag each way, and get back to me.
Gems like this don't matter to the home cook, but really amount to speed and consistency. Peel ten gallons of potatoes each with different peelers, and try not to have an opinion. It can also be a matter of avoiding injury. Once you've tagged your finger tips in every imaginable way, you'll develop some more opinions.
kirkwood is correct. Since the onion is layered the horizontal cuts are not necessary. Try it
The horizontal cuts are absolutely necessary unless you want the pieces from the sides to be bigger than the pieces from the middle.
If you have a problem with Onion fumes (as some posters have mentioned) put a small fan on the countertop and blow the fumes away from you. I tried this as an experiment once and it worked. Frankly though to me it's part of the process....don't really mind it.
I agree also that the horizontal cuts are not needed.
For Onion Cryers, I think there is another Chow video or article about this, but I use the method I got from some cooking show (Alton Brown's I think), which is :
Put a candle next to the cutting board, or turn on a gas burner and cut next to the stovetop. The open flame will eat away the fumes.
I haven't cried since.
Actually for cutting an onion,
I just cut in in half, end to end.
Cut the ends,
Cut along the 'grain'. keeping it all together,
rotate 90, then cut again.
Don't like to cut with the ends on because it
gets the rest of the onion dirty.
David
http://www.houseoption.com
As for the crying, I actually like a good cry sometimes. HA!