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Do cutting onions make you cry? Don’t fret! In this guide, I’ll teach you How to Cut an Onion with a straightforward tutorial for slicing, dicing, and mincing onions. Put those silly kitchen goggles away and get all the details of cutting an onion the proper way, regardless of what you need it for!
Table of Contents
- About this tutorial for cutting onion
- What’s an onion?
- What you’ll need to cut an onion
- How to prep a whole onion for cutting
- how To slice an onion into half moons
- How to julienne an onion
- How to dice an onion
- How to mince onions
- Follow these chef Expert tips when slicing onions
- FAQs: frequently asked questions
- How to use cut onions
- More culinary school kitchen tutorials!
- How to Chop an Onion Tutorial
About this tutorial for cutting onion
If you’ve been wondering how to properly cut an onion, you’ve come to the right place! Today I’m discussing how to cut onions — the right way. Whether you need to chop, julienne, slice, dice, or mince a bulb onion, this step by step tutorial has got you covered.
What you’ll need to cut an onion
- A sharp Chef’s knife
- Clean Cutting Board
- Onion (yellow onions, white onions, red onions, sweet vidalia onions, and/or shallots)
Follow these chef Expert tips when slicing onions
- These onion cutting tricks work for any size or type of onion. Stop asking how to chop a red onion or how to dice a white onion — it works the same no matter the color!
- When using your knife to cut, slice, dice, and chop, make sure you tuck the fingertips of your non-dominant hand under to keep them protected and out of the way of your knife. This will also allow you to use your knuckles as a guide for the knife.
- When cutting, keep those lines parallel for a pro look.
- Store any leftover cut onion in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days or in the freezer for up to a month. Just remember, freshly cut onions are the tastiest!
FAQs: frequently asked questions
You’ve got questions? I’ve got answers! If you have a question you don’t see listed below, please drop them in the comments section. I’m happy to help when I can!
Why do onions make you cry?
When you cut into an onion, an enzyme known as alliinas is released into the air. This enzyme reacts with a sulfur compound in the onion to produce a volatile gas called propanethial S-oxide. When this gas comes into contact with your eyes it reacts and forms sulfuric acid, an irritant that will cause your eyes to tear up and burn.
As a former line chef who’s peeled, diced, and sliced a million onions, I can tell you that even if you try ALL the tricks in the book, you still may cry a little when you cut onions. However, with a little patience and practice, you can drastically reduce your tears!
How can I cut an onion without crying?
Sensitive eyes? There’s a few tricks to cutting an onion without releasing those educing enzymes:
- Chill your onions: Toss your onion in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes before cutting, or if you have more prep time, refrigerate it for 24 hours. While onions prefer to be stored at a cool room temp, cooling them further helps to prevent the noxious fumes that cause your eyes to water from spreading quite so far.
- Leave the stem intact: While I’m not fully convinced this trick is fool-proof, leaving the onion stem intact while chopping does help a little.
- Cool your eyes: I came up with this method on my own while working in a high end steak house restaurant and prepping 100s of onions for various dishes, like french onion soup and onion confit. Every single time my eyes teared up I ran into the walk-in cooler or freezer until my eyeballs felt better (usually a few seconds). While you may not have a walk-in cooler available, sticking your head in the freezer for a few seconds helps a little.
- Use a sharp Chef’s knife: The sharper your kitchen knife the less damage you will do to the onion skin, which also means the less sulfuric compounds being released into the air.
- Other methods I’ve tried: There’s all sorts of other humdrum “tricks” out there for chopping onions without crying, such as chewing a piece of gum or bread while chopping onions (ineffective), or actually cutting onions under running water (dangerous!); however, I did not find those methods remotely effective in the slightest of bits. But feel free to try them and let me know in the comments section!
Also, while I don’t think you really *need* onion goggles, my friends with glasses tell me it helps, but only a little. 🤷🏼♀️
Can you cut an onion in half and plant it?
Actually, as long as the root end is intact, you can in fact replant it. I’ve had only mild success with this trick (of the 10 or so I’ve tried to plant, only about 2 started growing), but it’s definitely worth a try if you have the space!
Remember, when it comes to chopping onions, I’m all about those ‘layers’ of flavor! Happy slicing, dicing, and mincing, and may your culinary adventures always be ‘onion-point’
Cheyanne
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More culinary school kitchen tutorials!
- How to peel a peach
- Best Ways to Store Fresh Herbs
- 3 Ways to Grill Corn on the Cob
- How to Cut Broccoli
- Garlic Cutting Tutorial
- Knife Skills (how to cut vegetables)
- Riced Broccoli Recipe
How to Chop an Onion Tutorial
Equipment
- 1 Sharp Chef’s Knife
- 1 Clean Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 1 whole Onion (any color)
Instructions
- Prep onion: Peel off and discard any loose outer papery layers of the onion.
- Remove stem: Place the onion on a clean cutting board and use a sharp Chef's knife to cut off and discard the stem end (top) of the onion.
- Cut the onion in half: Next, cut the onion in half vertically, through the middle of the root – so a portion of the root is intact on both halves of the onion. (Tip: Do not stand the onion up on the flat side and cut down into the onion through the root. Doing this pushes all the dirt from the root INTO the onion.)
- Peel onion: Use your fingers or a paring knife to peel off and discard the outer layer of the onion. (Tip: When peeling onions, you want to remove as few layers as possible.)
- To Julienne Onion: Working with one half of the onion at a time, arrange the onion so that the flat side is down, flush with the board. Use your knife to cut off and discard the stem (top) and the root (bottom) of the onion. Next, look at the onion half and locate the lines running through it. The lines will look like lines of longitude on a globe – running from the root towards the tip of the onion. Now that you’ve located the lines, arrange your onion so that the lines are running perpendicular to, or towards you, and one of the cut sides is closest to your body. Following the lines of longitude, make 1/8-inch-wide cuts all the way through the onion. When you get to the top of the onion or the 90-degree mark, rotate the onion over so that the cut side is flush with the board again. Then, continue making 1/8-inch-wide julienne cuts all the way around the onion. Repeat the process with the other half of the onion until completely sliced.
- To Slice Onion into Half Moons: Working with one half of the onion at a time, arrange the onion so that the flat side is down, flush with the board. Next, look at the onion half and locate the lines running through it. The lines will look like lines of longitude on a globe – running from the root towards the tip of the onion. Now that you’ve located the lines, arrange your onion so that the lines are running parallel to you and the root is closest to your non-dominant hand – making the cut off tip of the onion closest to the knife. (Tip: if you are right-handed, the root should be on your left and vice versa for lefties.) Use your knife to cut through the onion – against the grain or lines – slicing as thick or thin as you prefer. Repeat the process with the other half of the onion until completely sliced.
- To Dice or Chop an Onion: Working with one half of the onion at a time, arrange the onion so that the flat side is down, flush with the board. Then arrange the onion so that the root is farthest away from you and the tip of your knife points towards the root. Now look at the half of onion and look for the lines running through the onion. The lines will look like lines of longitude on a globe, running north to south – from the root of the onion to the tip. Now that you’ve located the lines in the onion, make sure the lines are running perpendicular to, or towards you. Then, use your sharp knife to make vertical slices through the onion – up to the root but not through it – following the lines of longitude and the curve of the onion. Once you’ve made the series of vertical cuts, rotate the onion 90-degrees so that the lines of longitude and your cuts are now parallel to you (the lines should run left to right). Use your hand to gently hold the layers of the onion together and then use your knife to make horizontal cuts through the layers of onion – crosswise to, or through, the first cuts you make. Once all the cuts are made, cut off and discard the root. Repeat the process with the other half of the onion until completely diced. (Note: Try to dice the onion as evenly as possible. The width of your cuts will depend upon the dice you’re after. Small dice = ¼-inch. Medium dice = ½-inch. Large dice = ¾-inch. Chop = roughly 1 inch)
- To Mince Onion: Follow the steps above for small dicing an onion. Once you’ve diced all the onion and discarded the root, arrange the chef’s knife so it’s fits comfortably in your hand. Place your free hand on top of the knife and then rock the knife back and forth repeatedly over the pile of onions to mince them until unrecognizable. Occasionally, use the heel of the knife to gather the onions back into a pile for easy mincing. Repeat the process with the other half of the onion until completely minced.(Note: Mincing is to make something virtually unrecognizable, it’s a much smaller cut than a “fine dice”)
- Use or Store: Use or store the cut onions in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator to use at a later date.
Notes
- Onions: This onion cutting tutorial works for any size, variety, and number of onions.
- Technique: When using your knife to cut, slice, dice, and chop, make sure you tuck the fingers of your non-dominant hand under to keep them protected and out of the way of your knife. This will also allow you to use your knuckles as a guide for the knife.
- Dicing sizes: When cutting onions, make sure you are aiming for evenly spaced, parallel lines. When dicing, make sure you space your cuts according to the dice you are looking to achieve.
- Fine Mince: 1/8-inch
- Small Dice: ¼-inch
- Medium Dice: ½-inch
- Large Dice: ¾-inch
- Chop: rough 1-inch dice (no need to be approximate)
- Storage: Place any sliced, diced, chopped, or minced onions into an airtight storage container. Store in the fridge for up to 10 days.
- Flavor Note: While you can prep onions in advance, please note that they have the most flavor when freshly diced, chopped, sliced, or minced. Onions will lose flavor during storage.
Nutrition
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