How can I keep from crying while chopping an onion?
How can I keep from crying while chopping an onion?
Is it possible to avoid crying when you're chopping an onion? Home remedies range from the unattractive (breathe through your mouth and put carrots up your nose) to the suggestive (light a votive and do it underwater). Most remedies aim to keep the sulfuric acid in onion juice from floating up into your eyes and triggering the tear ducts.
Some eyes are more sensitive to the acid than others. Dipping two halves of an onion in white vinegar will remove some of the sulfuric acid, but doing so may compromise the onion’s flavor. Goggles will keep onion acids out of your eyes and keep you from tearing up. However, goggles will also fog up in a steamy kitchen. (Plus, goggles in the kitchen? Really?)
At Cookthink, we believe it’s all right to cry. Crying means you’ve got a fresh, potent onion on your cutting board.
You might try opening a window or turning on an exhaust fan. Cutting the root end last also seems to cut down on the crying. Or just get in the habit of making onions the last ingredient you prep before cooking, so you don’t have to linger too long in the onion-infused space above your cutting board.
Vidalias and other sweet onions are less likely to make you cry, because they contain more water and less sulfuric acid. So mild that you can bite into one like an apple, the Supasweet onion might make crying while chopping a thing of the past.
What is extra-virgin olive oil?
What is extra-virgin olive oil?
Extra-virgin olive oil is the precious unrefined first result of cold-pressing olives to make a fruity liquid that contains less than one percent acid.
Extra-virgin olive oil is the most expensive olive oil variety, and it is best appreciated in salads or as a garnish to give preparations a final flourish. If you are using olive oil to cook, it's fine to use regular olive oil.
Greece is the #1 consumer of olive oil in the world and also the leading producer of extra virgin olive oils, which account for 82 percent of their olive oil production. The U.S. is not a member of the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), which regulates olive oil standards worldwide, and the IOOC does not recognize the U.S. standards for extra-virgin oil.
There is much controversy in the olive oil world, with accusations of corruption and adulteration smearing consumer confidence and shedding doubt on the purity of so-called virgin olive oil.
what you should know
Poor thyme. It deserves better than to be perenially butchered by pun-prone copy editors (and root source writers). "The thyme has come!" "Big-thyme flavor!" "Only thyme will tell..."
A woodsy, stimulating herb, thyme has a warm taste with a light whiff of a minty antiseptic. It's a friend to roasts and stews; unlike many other fresh herbs, it stands up well to long cooking times. (In this osso buco, we add it at the end for a stronger jolt of thyme, but for a subtler, more diffused flavor, you could add it much earlier.)
serving thyme If you've got t-t-t-too much thyme on your hands, try using it with eggs, tomatoes and lamb, three ingredients with an affinity for thyme.
thyme waits Thyme takes to drying as well as any herb. If a recipe calls for fresh thyme, use 1/3 of that amount in dried thyme. Many popular herb-spice blends call for thyme, notably Za'atar, Herbes de Provence and bouquet garni.
all in good Thyme was also used by various ancient Mediterraneans as a cleansing agent, embalming mix and symbol of courage for soldiers going off to battle.
what you need
Books on herbs often lean too heavily towards the non-culinary uses. With Herbs and Spices: The Cook's Reference, this isn't an issue.
Same goes for The Mediterranean Herb Cookbook, which focuses on the many cuisines -- Southern European, Middle Eastern, Northern African -- in the region where thyme originated.
Chip's favorite way to end a big meal is with the thyme-infused liqueur called farigoule.
The Vermont Country Store sells a beautiful maple bowl and chopper that's perfect for prepping lots of herbs.
what you do
Brys loves an orange- thyme vinaigrette as a simple highlight to the concentrated flavors of a roasted fennel and tomato salad.
In a simple penne, the tart sweetness of the tomatoes complements the farminess of the goat cheese. Everything benefits from the intense perfumey studs of chopped fresh thyme.
Roasting potatoes on high heat makes them crisp on the outside and pillowy and steamy on the inside. Lemon and thyme brighten the earthy potatoes.
For a classic fall side dish -- maybe alongside grilled flank steak with chimichurri marinade -- try these creamy white beans with garlic and thyme.
Roasted lamb with black olives, thyme and orange zest is a nearly perfect balance of flavors. Really. Nearly perfect.
Chopping is probably the most common way to prep an onion. Chopped onions show up in anything that needs the basic, earthy pungent flavor that onions give. Chop them larger for longer-cooking dishes like stews and rustic soups, and smaller (call it a dice if you like) for anything from salsas to sauces to ragouts.
To start, cut the onion in half through the root. The root itself will help keep the onion together for chopping
Rotate the onion 90 degrees and cut off the papery end (not the root end). This will make the skin easy to peel away and discard.
Peel back the onion's papery skin. It's often easiest to peel away the first layer of the onion along with the skin.
Make a series of diagonal cuts (roughly 45 degrees) into the side of the onion. Keep more space between the slices for a large chop. Make the cuts closer together for a small chop or a dice.
Now make a series of horizontal cuts to finish shaping the chop or dice.
Finally, rotate the onion again and slice crosswise against the checkerboard pattern you made in the onion. The chopped pieces will fall away from the onion.
