cutting-onions-msg - 1/4/04 Techniques for cutting onions. NOTE: See also the files: onions-msg, garlic-msg, leeks-msg, onion-soups-msg, Run-a-Feast-art, headcooks-msg, cooks-clothng-msg, vegetables-msg, root-veg-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with seperate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the orignator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous mark.s.harris at motorola.com stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 09:33:42 -0400 From: Jeff.Gedney at Dictaphone.com Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] peeling onions/inability to cut onions To: Cooks within the SCA > Must try that sometime... while we're on the subject, actually - I've gotten > to the place where I'm almost completely unable to cut onions because they > make my eyes water so badly - and I've tried all the running water/glass of > water on the counter/etc tricks anyone I know could tell me. I'm getting > desperate, because having to break out the Cuisinart just to make dinner is > a bit... much. Help? :-) from much experience: 1) you need a VERY SHARP, UNSERRATED knife. the less you damage the individual cell walls the less the defensive chemicals in the onion will mix with the air to make you cry. a dull knife crushes it's way through the onion, Serrated knives are almost as bad as a dull knife, they SAW through the onion causing the same effect. A very sharp conventional knife will give you the least cry for your onion dollar. If you cant sharpen your own knives for soem reason, buy one you will use just for onions, and have it commercially sharpened ( look in the yellow pages under cutlery ) keep that one set aside fir onions. use a plastic or good wood board and do not "CHOP" but allow the knife to do the cutting. Use a slicing action. 2) a cold onion is better than warm (do not allow your onions to freeze, freezing disrupts cell walls and practically guarantees that your onion will bleed cry juice all over). 3) work near a fan or open window. plenty of ventilation helps. getting a small battery powered fan to blow across the board helps disperse the chemicals faster. 4) DONT TOUCH YOUR FACE OR EYES, even with the back of your hand, you are just bringing the juice on your fingers closer to your eyes! 5) If you have a LOT of onions to cut, you will find that if you just let nature take it's course your eyes will accomodate roughly the same way they accustom to chlorinated pool water. but they will tear up again when you are no longer working with them, as they readjust the chemical balance. Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2003 08:48:36 -0500 From: "Leah A. Montgomery" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] peeling onions To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org > Can anyone tell me the best way to peel an onion? How much should be > removed? Is there an easy way? *snippage* > Stefan Here is my favorite way of cutting onions. I have worked in restaurants for many years and that's where I learned it. Cut the top and the bottom off of your onion. Cut the onion in half, this makes it ten times easier to peel. It's perfectly fine to remove the first layer of "real" onion, usually it makes it a quicker job, and the waste isn't that bad. Most people don't want to mess with the extra time it takes to peel off only the husk, or brown part, especially if they've got 20 or more pounds that they are cutting. Lay down one half of the onion, wide cut side down. Cut it against the grain, from cut end to cut end, as thin as you will want the final pieces to be. Then cut with the grain as thin as you want the final pieces to be. For strips, just cut with the grain. Easy and simple! Leah A. Montgomery SCA: Safia bint Wahib al Marakeshi called Samira Head of Byat Al Viola Hirrar Bryn Gwlad, Ansteorra (Austin, TX) Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 10:29:05 -0500 From: "Mercedes/Stephanie" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] peeling onions/inability to cut onions To: "Cooks within the SCA" I've found that a lit candle near the cutting board can help. Mercedes Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2003 11:43:12 -0400 From: AEllin Olafs dotter Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] peeling onions To: Cooks within the SCA Sue Clemenger wrote: > I've never done anything with pearl onions, but maybe you could blanch > them, briefly, using the same method one does for getting skins off > tomatoes and peaches (i.e., a brief bath in boiling water, and then > plunge into cold?) > --maire This is the way the canning books suggest you handle them for pickling. I've done it, and it works pretty well. They do get slippery, though... ;-) This is also the way, Jadwiga, that what's his name did the garlic, remember? and it did indeed move faster. Not worth it unless you are doing bulk, but for a lot, it does seem to speed things up. AEllin Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 11:57:37 -0400 From: "Jeanne" Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] peeling onions/inability to cut onions To: "Cooks within the SCA" We've always major hacked them under running water or held the old sulfur matches between our teeth or light a candle. By an open breeze also works. Candle is best, the flame sucks in the noxious gases so you don't get to experience them fully! Soffya Edited by Mark S. Harris cutting-onions-msg 4 of 4