One or more fresh, whole onions

A kitchen knife, preferably with an 8" (20 cm) blade; a smaller knife is okay

A cutting board

3 to 5 minutes per onion

Axis: the central line of the onion, which runs from the root end to the top.

Free hand: the hand that's not holding the knife and is free to hold the onion.

Bear claw: a method of holding any vegetable to keep it steady and to keep your fingers on your hand. It's explained in Step 2.

Raw onions are too strong for some folks, so use them sparingly when cooking for someone for the first time. Cooking onions by any method softens and sweetens their taste considerably.

How big or small? In general, the more an onion will be cooked, the larger the pieces should be. Raw onions for salad should be sliced thinly. Stir-fry dishes can handle large crescent moon shapes. Medium onions can be quartered and added to long-cooking stews, chilies, and roasts, and small onions can be added whole to these dishes.

That lingering scent: after working with onions, your hands can retain their odor even after scrubbing with soap. Many chefs swear by stainless steel as a scent neutralizer--just rub your hands over some quantity of the metal. You can even buy stainless steel "bars" design for just this purpose.

2torial #0867: Learn2 Slice and Dice Onions Wipe those tears away! Onions are one of the most versatile ingredients in cooking, appearing in everything from cocktails to appetizers to desserts. Whether you prepare them raw, steamed, sauteed, deep-fried, boiled, or caramelized, you'll have to slice or dice them for many recipes. Unfortunately, onion preparation causes grief for many a budding chef, even to the point of omitting onions from their cooking. To avert this culinary tragedy, this 2torial shows the efficient ways of slicing and dicing, so you spend your time eating and not crying.   You're going to need a sharp knife and a clean, level cutting board: using anything less will slow the learning process considerably. Some folks dedicate a cutting board for cutting onions and garlic, as their strong flavors can be absorbed into the board and transferred to other ingredients (fruit, for example). Other folks can't be bothered with a separate cutting board and haven't had any problems with intrusive onion flavors. Try just one board and expand to two if you think it's necessary. Some terms: Positioning an onion correctly makes it easier to prepare, and positioning requires you understand the parts of the onion. The most important reference point is the root end: the tough, hairy end of the onion. On the other side of the onion root is the onion top, and the line between those is called the axis. The axis represents the direction that the onion layers grow in; since you'll need to cut lengthwise (with the axis) and widthwise (against the axis), it's important to locate the axis.   Cut without crying   One of the biggest complaints about onion prep is the fumes from freshly cut onions. These noxious vapors irritate the mucus membranes in your nose and eyes, and the result is discomfort and tearing. Like hiccup remedies, strategies to prevent onion tears are numerous and staunchly defended by their proponents. Here are some to try: Cover the onions: As soon as you slice a quantity of onion (say, half of an onion), place the sliced onion in a bowl and cover it with a plate. This prevents an accumulation of onion fumes, and, according to Swiss culinary folklore, prevents the onions from absorbing toxins in the air. Wash that dirty onion: Another bit of kitchen wisdom maintains that washing an onion as soon as it's peeled will reduce the onion fumes. As long as you're peeling and washing, peel all the onions at once. Some folks say this helps a lot. Chew on a piece of raw onion: If that's too much, chew a wooden matchstick (but don't chew too hard!) Experience: Probably the best remedy is to cook with onions frequently. Your eyes and nose will develop a resistance to the fumes, and will cease to bother you at all. Slice onions Slicing is the first step to most onion preparation. If you're not comfortable with it, you'd better start practicing--or else count on cooking only with pearl onions (the tiny kind). Clean the onion: Slice off the ends. Cut just inside the hairy root end. Keep an eye on that end--you'll need to locate it in Step 3. Place the onion flat on an end and slice in half, along the axis. Peel off the dry, papery layers of onion--these can have a harsh flavor and are tough to chew. Place the onion halves face down on the cutting board. Hold the onion:   Known in some circles as "the bear claw," this method of holding the onion is essential to precise onion prep. It has two strategies: one, secure the onion so that it doesn't slide around or fall apart as you're cutting; and two, keep the fingertips out of the way--so you can keep your fingertips. For easy reference, let's call the hand that doesn't hold the knife "the free hand." Place fingertips of the free hand on the top of the face-down onion half. Your pinkie and thumb should be next to an onion end. Push or roll those fingers forward so that the first knuckles are tucked in towards your palm. In doing so, the second knuckles of your free hand will be roughly square to the cutting board and at the edge of the onion. These knuckles will act as a guide for the knife. Slice the onion:   Your knuckles are now at the edge of the onion. Pull the knuckles back a 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch, or an 1/8 inch ( 1 cm, .5 cm, .25 cm), depending on how thick you want the slices. Choose a slice thickness and stick with it--uniform slices cook evenly and look more appetizing. To maintain straight and even slices, rest the flat side of the knife against your knuckles. Make a slice parallel to the axis and straight down to the cutting board. Drawing the knife towards you slightly as it slices down will also help. Lift the knife up and away from you slightly, scoot your free hand knuckles back a 1/2 inch (1 cm), and descend again with the knife. This motion of lifting away and drawing toward will create a circular motion that's both rhythmic and efficient. Continue cutting until you're two-thirds done with the onion. Now flip the onion onto its other side, so that the uncut side is exposed. Start cutting the uncut side, using your first finger to support the remaining onion on its underside, and using the outside of your thumb as a guide. If this seems like too much at first, here's an easier way that produces decent results. At the halfway point, turn the onion a half turn (180 degrees) so that you're working on the other end. Slice this new, uncut end until you're at the center. Use your thumb and first two fingers to hold the final slice in place. (Hold them near the top, not at the bottom near the cutting board.) If even that seems like too much, here's an even simpler way. Slice the onion until it's too small to hold. Then turn the remainder a quarter turn (90 degrees), and slice the remainder. You're slicing the other way now (which some cooks forbid in their kitchen), but it's a good compromise if the other methods seem too precise for you.   Create crescent moons: This is similar to slicing, but the shape is a little different--thicker at the middle and thinner at the ends. Looks lovely in stir-fry dishes and pasta sauces. Clean the onion and cut in half, along the axis. Rest an onion half on its end, not face down. Using a modified bear claw, hold the onion and slice downwards, slicing from the center of the onion out to the edge. (Before, you were cutting across the whole length of the onion; with crescent moons, you cut the radius of an onion half.) As with regular slicing, choose a thickness and stick with it. Move the knife a 1/4 inch (.5 cm) or so with each cut, always keeping one point of the knife at the center of the onion. Dice onions Dicing is the cutting of any vegetable into small squares. Once those squares increase beyond a certain size (it's arbitrary), you're no longer dicing--you're chopping. So if a recipe calls for chopped onions, just follow the directions for dicing and increase the size of your cuts (i.e. decrease the number of cuts you make.) Note: Dicing requires slicing; if you've skipped ahead without reading Step 2, the directions may not be clear to you. Get ready: Clean the onion and slice in half, down the axis. Place the onion face down on the cutting board. Get ready to slice, but don't start cutting. Roots intact: The crux of dicing lies in one detail--leaving the root end intact. If you slice through most of the onion and leave the root end intact, the root end will hold together the rest of the onion as it's sliced and diced. Cut through: Hold the onion with the bear claw and slice along the axis. Before you slice, realize that the width of the slices determines the size of the dices, so some planning may be in order. If you need a large dice, starting out with thin slices won't get you there Option cutting: After you've sliced the onion along the axis, you have the option of making a few cuts through the center of the onion, parallel to the cutting board. It's really not necessary, unless you're preparing large onions or tiny dices. Start at the end opposite the root end. Hold the knife parallel to the cutting board, and slice down the axis of the face down onion. To prevent cutting through the root end, saw gently with the knife, rather than shoving it through. One of two of these cuts are usually all that's necessary. Now for the dice: Hold the onion with the bear claw. Starting at the top end (opposite the root), cut across the axis, across the first slices you made. Continue down the onion, tucking the fingers in a 1/4 inch or so, and slicing down. This will produce the onion dice, the small squares of onion. Remove and store: As with slicing, remove the diced onion once you've finished half an onion, and store in a covered bowl. This makes room on the cutting board and keeps the onions fresh. -end- Learn More!