[Sca-cooks] peeling onions/inability to cut onions

Wed Sep 3 06:33:42 PDT 2003

> Must try that sometime... while we're on the subject, actually - I've
gotten
> to the place where I'm almost completely unable to cut onions because
they
> make my eyes water so badly - and I've tried all the running water/glass
of
> water on the counter/etc tricks anyone I know could tell me.  I'm getting
> desperate, because having to break out the Cuisinart just to make dinner
is
> a bit... much.  Help? :-)

from much experience:

1) you need a VERY SHARP, UNSERRATED knife.
     the less you damage the individual cell walls the less the defensive
chemicals in the onion will mix with the air to make you cry.
     a dull knife crushes it's way through the onion,
     Serrated knives are almost as bad as a dull knife, they SAW through
the onion causing the same effect.

     A very sharp conventional knife will give you the least cry for your
onion dollar. If you cant sharpen your own knives for soem reason, buy one
you will use just for onions, and have it commercially sharpened ( look in
the yellow pages under cutlery ) keep that one set aside fir onions. use a
plastic or good wood board and do not "CHOP" but allow the knife to do the
cutting. Use a slicing action.

2) a cold onion is better than warm (do not allow your onions to freeze,
freezing disrupts cell walls and practically guarantees that your onion
will bleed cry juice all over).

3) work near a fan or open window. plenty of ventilation helps.
     getting a small battery powered fan to blow across the board helps
disperse the chemicals faster.

4) DONT TOUCH YOUR FACE OR EYES, even with the back of your hand, you are
just bringing the juice on your fingers closer to your eyes!

5) If you have a LOT of onions to cut, you will find that if you just let
nature take it's course your eyes will accomodate roughly the same way they
accustom to chlorinated pool water.
     but they will tear up again when you are no longer working with them,
as they readjust the chemical balance.

                    "Generys ferch                                                                                                      
                    Ednuyed"                     To:     "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>                             
                    <generys at blazemail.co        cc:                                                                                    
                    m>                           Subject:     RE: [Sca-cooks] peeling onions/inability to cut onions                    
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                    sca-cooks-bounces at ans                                                                                               
                    teorra.org                                                                                                          

                    09/03/2003 09:13 AM                                                                                                 
                    Please respond to                                                                                                   
                    Cooks within the SCA                                                                                                

> -----Original Message-----
> I've never done anything with pearl onions, but maybe you could blanch
> them, briefly, using the same method one does for getting skins off
> tomatoes and peaches (i.e., a brief bath in boiling water, and then
> plunge into cold?)
> --maire

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