Wednesday, December 15, 2010

WFMW: Chopping onions without the tears


OK, a quick show of hands...Who can't stand chopping onions?

Yeah. Me, neither.

I had heard about cutting onions under running water (Who can do that? Safely, I mean...?) and wearing goggles (Really?) but I wasn't going to do either of those tricks. Finally, I heard about freezing the onions before cutting them.

Freezing them? I can do that. So I tried it, and...

Success!

First, after removing the outer skin and chopping off the ends, I sliced the onions. I'm almost ashamed to show you the photo of my onion slices because tonight I found out I've been doing it the wrong way all these years. So, cut yours vertically (with the onion standing on the flat end you've cut away) instead of horizontally like I did.


I placed the incorrectly sliced onions in the freezer on the top of a plastic container and set the timer. About 30 minutes has been the best time for me--any longer than that, and the onions become brittle and harder to chop. Even if you have less time to leave the onions in the freezer, it helps. Just grab a few slices, leave the rest in the freezer, and come back for more when you're done slicing the ones you've taken.

Place the chopped onions in a labeled freezer bag. Do not overfill the bag so you can flatten the onions into a thin layer; freeze the onions flat, and then the chopped pieces will be loose enough for you to get what you need from the freezer in the future.


If you are interested in more tips on chopping onions without tears, check out this link. There is even a video on how to remove the part of the onion that is releasing the gas that makes our eyes tear up...I don't think I have a sharp enough knife to try it, but you might.

For more ideas and helpful hints, check out We Are THAT Family!

2 comments:

Nichole said...

OK, the goggles thing? Sounds ridiculous. Looks ridiculous. But it works!

Kathleen said...

I sometimes just leave the onions out because I hate chopping them that much. I'll have to give this a try, although...don't you cry just prepping them for freezing?

Besides the tears, one reason I hate chopping them is that my hands smell afterwards. Best solution I've found for that is a milk wash.

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