Tear-Free Onions
I have finally figured out how to prevent the tears from flowing while cutting onions, but there are multiple steps involved and unfortunately I don’t know if only one would do the trick.
Knowing I was going to make sauce while Ben napped, I put the onion in the freezer about a half hour before putting him in bed. (I had read in Taste of Home magazine that if you freeze the onion then the juices that make us cry won’t be an issue.) As soon as I took it out of the freezer I started prepping it. I cut both ends just slightly, peeled away the paper, and cut it in half.
Then I moved the cutting board close to the stove and turned the hood fan on high. (Figured it couldn’t hurt!)
While cutting the onion, I make sure not to cut the root end, but instead cut as close as possible and dice until I can dice no more.
I didn’t cry today . . . at least not over the onion.
Feel free to leave comments with your best tricks as well!
Ah, yes. The small but mighty onion. I had to learn to process these quickly since Dad doesn’t like them, and if he happened into the kitchen during prep I would have a really hard time hiding them.
I found that onions varied in the amount of “critical acid” they contained – depending on their type. However, the best rule of thumb was “Never cut off the root end”.
Regardless of the size and shape of onion needed for cooking (slices, rings, minced, diced, quarters, etc) I found that the farther I stayed away from the root, the less the crying occurred.
When doing dicing or mincing I make the larger cuts first, keeping the onion intact. Then do the crosscuts.
Be warned… you will cry no matter what you do to that poor little onion- – IF YOUR KNIFE IS NOT SHARP.
The freezer trick is good, and if you don’t find time for that, just plunge that little critter in an ice bath for a few minutes. That’ll teach ‘em !