Description
Learn the easy and efficient ways to cut an onion for various uses, from dicing and slicing to mincing. This guide covers step-by-step instructions, tips for safety, and storage advice to ensure perfectly cut onions for all your cooking needs.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Onions – quantity as needed
Instructions
- Prepare the onion: Put on goggles if desired to prevent tears. Cut off both the root end and the papery end of the onion. Place the onion on its flat end and slice it in half. Remove the peel from each half.
- Vertical slices for half-moons: Place one onion half flat side down on the cutting board. Make vertical slices across the onion, keeping your fingers safely out of the way by using them to hold slices in place and rotating the board as needed.
- Dicing the onion: After slicing vertically, rotate the onion 90 degrees and cut horizontally to dice into small pieces. Lay the long end of the onion down when near fingers for safer chopping.
- Chef’s method—prepping halves: Slice the onion through the root end into halves and remove the papery peel by carefully pulling it off the root.
- Vertical slicing with intact root: Make vertical cuts angled slightly across the onion, but leave the root end intact to hold the onion together.
- Dicing with root intact: Turn the onion 90 degrees and dice down toward the root, allowing pieces to drop off. Turn the onion to get remaining pieces near the root.
- Slicing into rings: To slice into rings, cut a small slice off one round side to stabilize the onion, place it on that flat side, then slice straight through to desired thickness.
- Slicing for caramelizing or salads: Cut off root and paper ends, slice onion in half, peel, and then slice into half-moons with the flat cut side down.
- Mincing the onion: Follow the dicing process but make cuts closer together to create finely minced onion pieces.
- Finalizing and transferring: Use the knife to slide chopped or minced onions off the cutting board into your recipe such as soup, stew, or salsa.
- Storage: Store leftover chopped onion in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the refrigerator or freezer to preserve freshness.
Notes
- Wear goggles or glasses to reduce eye irritation from onion fumes.
- Always use a sharp knife for clean cuts and improved safety.
- Leave the root end intact when dicing to hold the layers together and make chopping easier.
- For caramelizing or salads, slice onions thicker or thinner to suit your dish.
- Store chopped onions in airtight containers to prevent odors from spreading in your fridge.
- Frozen chopped onions work well in cooked dishes but may lose crispness for fresh uses.