Tips for chopping onions
By Simon Gault on 27th February, in Food & recipes, Simon Gault's recipe tips
I had to laugh the other day when I saw my teenage daughter in the kitchen wearing swimming goggles as she chopped an onion for her legendary spaghetti and meatballs. Surely, after all these years, they could have invented an onion that doesn’t make you cry!
Yes indeed! Lots of people have theories on this. For what it’s worth, here are my thoughts: If the onion is refrigerated for half an hour before chopping, that can help. Avoid cutting the root off if you can, as this area produces most of the vapour that makes eyes water. Finally, make sure your knife is very sharp as the faster you can chop the onion, the sooner you’ll stop crying. I like the goggles idea though – I can imagine all the kitchen staff in my restaurants wearing them!
