Leave the Roots of the Onions Intact for Easier Chopping and Dicing
By this time, I could already chop the onion in my sleep: cut it in half, cut the stem and root, peel and cut into slices. In all my years of onion cooking, it never crossed my mind to shake things up, but skipping just one of those steps – removing the root – changed my onion-based repertoire for the better.
The hardest part of slicing onions is preventing the slippery layers from blurring at odd angles, disrupting the uniformity of the cubes and creating a potentially dangerous cutting surface. If this is what you are struggling with, it is very helpful to keep the root intact. It holds the layers together as you cut them and gives you a comfortable grip to grip, keeping everything nice and stable. To try this yourself, simply cut the onion in half through the root and cut the stem as usual, leaving the root as it is. Peel off the skin and then chop, chop, or dice the onion. When you get to the root end, don’t dare to throw it away – instead, cut it off and store it in your warehouse .