For these who cook: how to cut onions ?

Can anybody explain me the basics on how the professionals are able to cut onions and other stuff into perfect little sqares? Even though I love to cook and am rather quick with the knives I have no clue how they do it. My primary goal is not speed but the trick behind it.

Who can help?

Klaus.

I don't know about perfect squares, but a technique I was taught for neater than average cutting of an onion goes like this:
Peel off the outer skin layer.
Set the onion with the root lying flat on the cutting surface.
Make vertical slices at your desired thickness, without cutting all the way through (cuts will be shallower on outer portions of the onion, much nearer the root at the center).
Rotate 90 degrees, repeat.
Now, complete one of the cuts through the center, and lie the two halves flat on the cutting surface.
Cut perpendicular to your previous angle of cutting to finish dicing the onion.

The slices won't be as prone to slide in the final cuts as with clear-cut slices of onion, but there is some wastage/difficult-to-cut onion left at the root end.

Cut it in half, but not around the "center" but rather through the root and tem end so that you end up with 2 halves, each with part of the root.

remove any extra skin or outer layers that you want to.

lay cut side down and hold from the stem side (the side where it all comes together, if you do it backwards it will fall apart early)

Make a series of "sunburst" style cuts from the outside into the stem end, but not all the way through, you want the wedges to stay connected there.

Then just cut down perpendicular up until you reach the stem end. The wedges will fall off and into little squares. It's fast, and easy and since the cut edge is down for most of the cutting less gas is released into your eyes...

This is how Alton Brown does it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Dave,
that's how I've done it until now. It works but isn't perfect I think. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

James,
whoever Alton Brown is, it sounds good - I will give it a try as soon as the next onion or potato crosses my path. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Klaus.

edit: Mr.Google just told me who Alton Brown is. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I expect they slice the onions in a slicing machine and then dice the slices with a chef knife.

Dicing onions

Bart's got it basically right, except that the horizontal cuts aren't really necessary

One trick - put the onion half flat on the board (Per the photos), and put your "off" hand on top of the onion. Now curl your fingers back so that the last segments are either vertical, or slightly beyond vertical. Now start sliding the onion out from under your hand. The flat of your knife runs along the backs of your fingers. This way you can control how far you move the knife.

Learning how to REALLY use a chef's knife is something all chefs do.

Traditionally, you worked your way up in the kitchen, from plate washer, to pot washer etc. Eventually you got to the point where you start to prep the "Mes en place" (spelling?) Aka, peel the veggies, chop onions, etc - getting everything ready and "In place" (what "mes en place" means)

Mom and Dad started me getting all the veggies and the like ready when I was around 9-10 years old. By the time I was in my mid teens, I did all the basic prep works, so that when Mom got home, she could start dinner. If it was a meal that took a long time to cook, I might even start it (say a roast). The fancy stuff (sauces and the like) Mom or Dad did when they got home. Hey, we got to eat WELL

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif
Get someone else to do it.

David <><

Use a Borner V-Slicer - it comes with a dicing blade:



That's how I do it.