Saturday, October 22, 2022

Cutting Onions Tip

I accidentally made a discovery the other day.  I was chopping an onion, my least favorite task, and dreading the impending tears.  Except the tears didn't come.  

I soon realized that the fan I had blowing on some frozen meat to the side of the cutting board was probably blowing away the noxious fumes. I was so happy and excited, and wanting to test out this phenomenon, that I ended up mincing and mincing and mincing that onion into tiny, itty bitty pieces.  Ho!!

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Looks like Alton Brown already knew this.

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I love this Vornado fan.  It has soft "blades" and folds up, and is small enough that I can tuck it away in a cupboard above the sink.  I bought it a long time ago at the swap meet for $3!
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You should get one.
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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have this! In fact, I'm on my second one because I used the 1st one so much it broke. I have it on a shelf at work so runs it all day because the ac in my office is kinda junk.
Great trick for onions!
v

Anonymous said...

J, how ironic, I was watching a You tube and a pro chef was showing how to cut styles of onions and there was no solid way to minimize the tears. He mentioned one way but I forgot since it wasn't 100% perfect. But he didn't meet Chef Jalna. :)

Are you going to our reunion. I kinda wanna go since this literally may be the last time to see everyone. Problem is I know them but none on a personal basis. I had a small clique and lost touch with all of them and doubt that they're gonna go. -N

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tip!

Izsmom

DrumMajor said...

I have my old clear plastic lab goggles in the kitchen. I put them on when I cut onions. No tears cuz I'm not a fast cutter. Linda in Kansas

K and S said...

such a great thing to know!

jalna said...

V, I love that the fan takes up so little space.

N, LOL, "Chef Jalna". Funny. I most likely won't go to the reunion.

Izsmom, any time!

Linda, good idea. My knife skills are greatly lacking, and onions are scary to me 'cause they're kinda slippery.

Kat, I know!

Susan said...

I saw this one video where someone wet some paper towels, rolled them up and set it on the cutting board next to the onions being cut. The wet paper towel absorbs the onion fumes before it gets to your eyes. Haven’t tried it yet.

jalna said...

Susan, interesting! I like try.

celia said...

Someone's granddaughter used a Saran Wrap and put it across her eyes and tied it in the back. I should let them know about using a fan. What a wonderful solution. My eyes always hurt because not being tall, I am closer to the cutting board than the average person.

jalna said...

Celia, LOL, I wouldn't wanna be caught with Saran Wrap strapped across my eyes. So funny.