12 hours Ago By Elaine Blackburne
Michelin star chef Gordon Ramsay has explained to chop an onion - without cutting your fingers or even shedding tears. Onions, which form of the Allium family of vegetables, are a versatile ingredient used in many dishes but it isn't always easy to deal with. There have been many a cut finger caused during the process.
And there are tears that usually come when you cut into the veg. Onions contain compounds in their cell walls which are harmless when separated. However they mix together when the cell walls are broken by slicing or chopping the vegetable which creates the noxious irritants.
These can then get into your eyes and lead to tears. But the celebrity chef, a judge on Masterchef USA and who currently holds eight Michelin stars, has explained to fans how to chop the versatile veg without crying. And he even gave a tip which will help avoid cut fingers, reports Lancashire Live .
In a Facebook video he starts by showing fans the root of the vegetable which he said should not be cut off and discarded first. He said: "That's absolutely crucial. "Leave that on there.
If you cut that off, the onion will start to bleed, and you'll start crying rapidly." Proceeding with his tutorial, the chef, whose TV shows also include Hell's Kitchen and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, illustrates how to efficiently slice the onion with "no waste and no fuss". The chef first halves a peeled onion, cutting through the middle of the root, saying: "Slice going forward.
Let the weight of the knife do the work." He then shows his middle three fingers with one in front and two behind. Pointing to the knuckle on the middle finger, which is in front and which will help stop cutting fingers, he explains: "This part of the knuckle is going to guide the knife.
"Fingers on top of the onion, point the knife towards the root and try to get as close to the root as possible. Nice, long, strokes. Then push the onion back together.
" The chef then turned aroud the onion and placed the knife sideways across the top. He said: "Push the knife halfway into the onion, slightly tilt the knife down." He then cut away at the middle of the vegetable then cut again once across the top.
He explained when doing it you need to "grip the onion like a tennis ball, holding it together in place". He then demonstrated how to finely chop the onion saying let "the weight of the blade cutting through that onion until you get to the base of the root." He then turned around the onion, continuing to chop with an up and down motion until there was only a small amount of onion left around the remaining root.
He said: "No waste - just the root. And you've got a really nice, finely chopped onion." His fans were delighted with the tip.
Kassy said: "THANK YOU I always end up crying so bad." Douglas added: "I've been doing it wrong this whole time." Holly agreed saying: "I love his teaching videos! I have learned so much! I need those knives he uses!" Greg added: "Shoot I didnt know to leave the root on till last.
" But Joel had his own answer to avoiding tears. He said: "I prefer my technique - avoid them at all costs.".
