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Onions

Onions are in more of our recipes than any other ingredient. Cooked onion makes almost any soup, rice, bean, or meat dish taste better. You don't need fancy knife skills to cut one.

How to dice an onion

  1. Cut off the pointy top. Leave the hairy root end on. It holds the layers together while you cut.
  2. Stand the onion on the flat end you just cut. Cut it in half from top to root.
  3. Peel off the papery skin, and the first layer if it's dry or tough.
  4. Lay each half flat side down. Slice it into strips.
  5. Turn the strips sideways and cut across them to make small pieces.
  6. Throw away the root end.

How to use it

  • "Diced" just means small pieces, a little bigger than a pea. They don't have to be neat or even.
  • If a recipe says "softened", cook the onion in a little oil over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring now and then. It's ready when the pieces bend easily and you can partly see through them. Cook 8 to 10 minutes and they turn golden and sweeter.
  • Burning eyes? Use your sharpest knife, and put the onion in the fridge for 15 minutes before cutting.
  • No onion? Leave it out. The dish will still work. A teaspoon or two of onion powder also adds onion flavor.

Storage

  • Keep whole onions somewhere cool, dry, and dark. Not in the fridge, and not in a bag with potatoes. Kept together, they both go bad faster.
  • Whole onions keep several weeks.
  • A cut onion keeps about a week in the fridge, wrapped or in a container.
  • Diced onion freezes well for cooking. Freeze it in a bag and add it to the pan frozen.
  • A green sprout or a small soft spot is fine. Cut it off and use the rest. If the onion is mushy or moldy, throw it out.

38 recipes using Onions