The Tearless Onion
We have all experienced the tearful onion at some time or another. All onions are made the same which makes this cutting technique very effective. Onions have a stem end and root end with layers in between both ends. The root end contains the highest concentrate of capsaicin which is the compound that makes your eyes tear up. Capsaicin is the ingredient in pepper spray that makes your eyes water up. In the case of pepper spray, it comes from peppers and not onions. Onions grow in layers which is extremely helpful when deciding on its application for your creation. When slicing a round object, to be safe, you always want to turn the round surface into a flat surface by slicing in half. This technique may seem like lots of steps, but it is actually quite a bit faster because there is almost no re-chopping. Now let’s begin our tearless journey.
Unpeeled onion pointing to the root end
Begin to peel the onion to reveal the usable flesh by slicing it in half and peeling back the unwanted layers. The usable flesh will have a smooth pliable surface. Usually, on most onions, you will peel up to two layers off an onion to reveal the part you want to use in your creation. Keep all of your trimmings for your next stock (more on that in future posts.)
Cut the onion in half to assist with peeling
Peeled onion ready to chop or slice
Trim the stem end (opposite the root end) and leave the root end untouched. Leaving the root end untouched will prevent the release of the capsaicin, therefore preventing the tears.
To Slice: lay the one half of the onion, flat surface down, start from the stem end, slice to desired width. Make sure to stop cutting before you get all the way to the root end.
For slicing, start at the stem end and slice across the onion working your way toward the root end making sure to stop short of the root end.
To Dice: this works every time!
Lay one half of the onion, flat surface down on the cutting board.
For chopping an onion, lay your knife parallel to cutting board and make several cuts . Be careful not to cut all the way through to the root end.
Using a knife, cutting parallel to the cutting board, make as many cuts as needed based upon your desired dice size. Make sure not to cut all the way through to the root end. Typically, I seem to do around 4 slices. See above picture.
For chopping, the next step is to place your knife perpendicular to the board and make several cuts from the end working your way across the end of the onion.
Take the knife, longitudinally oriented to the onion and perpendicular to the cutting board, and make as many cuts as needed based upon your desired dice size. Typically, I find myself making 5 slices for an average dice size on a medium onion. See above picture.
For chopping, the last step is to make cuts across the onion being careful to stop short of the root end.
Take the knife and start cutting across the onion at the desired width/size, stopping just shy of the root end. The knife should be perpendicular to the cutting board for each of these cuts. See above picture.
I am holding the root end of the onion; discard it because it is very bitter to taste.
Discard the little end piece because it is bitter due to the capsaicin. Not using this piece will prevent the bad onion taste people dislike as well as keeping the kitchen tearless. See above picture, the piece I am pinching with right hand.
Storage
Either use a plastic bag or plastic container and store the onions in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for several months. Usually, I will cut up several onions at a time, use what I need and store the rest for future creations.
Cheers to no more tears in the kitchen!