Dicing an Onion Faster than the Pros!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- Dicing an onion the “right” way involves a series of vertical and horizontal cuts to make a grid, then chopping through to create your dice. The radial cut is quicker, safer, and just as good for home cooks. While a professional chef might notice the difference, the end result should be nearly indistinguishable from the professional methods.
Shop our wide selection of kitchen knives and tools: kcoti.com/3ytyYYK
Xin Cutlery Ostap Hel XinCore Series: kcoti.com/3RUoJ6O
Browse our full catalog:
kcoti.com/Knif...
Social Links:
/ knifecenter
/ knifecenter
/ knifecenter
Sign up for our newsletter:
kcoti.com/2LkuXg7
Check out our KnifeREWARDS program for free money to spend on your next knife: kcoti.com/knif...
Yeah this method is called a rainbow cut. At least that’s what I was taught. I never liked doing the lateral cuts. An onion is already segmented, no need to make your own.
I never understood that either. I used to dice my onions the “grid” way when I was learning just because that’s what Gordon Ramsay said was the right way. Now, I only make the top cuts and then the cross cut to dice. As it is, I rarely dice, I usually make slivered onions for most everything I make since I can make them much thinner and almost always caramelize my onions.
seriously
@@johnmaynes7142 i do grid/flower cut because almost all street food carts here to the same way. We need chopped onions for everything from pavbhaji to bhurji to dosa to a side side. Plus, since we have to buy the bags and it's not* always the best kind/size, grid cut is the best way to go.
Right, haha
I was gonna say the same thing, the lateral cuts are completely unnecessary
I'm not crying. You're crying.
Crybaby
We're crying*
Not of you have a sharp knife
@@2knives1cook *if
@@2knives1cook its onions bro.... you're crying one way or another
Finally! I've been cutting onions like this for YEARS and I wanted everyone to know how simple and quick it is. I'm glad you shared this.
Upgrade your game: imagine the centerpoint your cutting towards is about 2 cm under the onion, so the point towards you cut is 2cm into the cuttingboard. For visualisation: Pause this video at 42 seconds and imagine you pull the centerpoint of all the lines down, how do the lines change? Enjoy your new best onion cutting technique.
a slightly better way is to put that center point below where the actual onion is, so that all of your onion bits are (mathematically proven to be) as even as possible, then just throw in a horizontal cut or two and you're golden. That being said, if you ask me, it's hard to dice an onion terribly, especially for home use, so do whatever suits you best
Source: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt
I was searching for this comment. I also saw his article on the mathematically precise way to chop an onion. Kenji is awesome!
@@Janani_KannanI was searching for you
Agreed. I haven't read the article that you're apparently referring to but I understand. It would create rhomboids instead of trapezoids so even the individual pieces would be more even as well as them being similar in volume to each other.
Edit: I did just read the article. Interesting to note that there are also 19 cuts on one half of an onion (to bisect an onion with about 10 layers)
yes
Kenji Lopez alt worked with a mathematician to determine what angle creates the most even pieces in this style of cut, as cutting towards the center means that pieces in the center are smaller than the pieces towards the outside. As I recall, you should aim for a point that is about 2in below the center of the onion for the most consistent pieces.
Hell yeah it is! Also, if you're cooking food eaten with chopsticks, you can stop once you've got the radial cuts made, no dice necessary!
yeah I rarely cut my onions that small because they get cooked down so much in the food I make
"this technique works for the amature home cooks, now grab your $200 Damascus steel knife..."
All he said was grab a sharp knife relax
@@moomaniac2932 no he didnt lol, you clearly weren’t paying attention.
@@TheStunnerFTW rewatch the video
It’s more fun that way
@@TheStunnerFTW he did.
This is also one great efficient method of mincing an onion. Thank you for sharing.
Michelin star restaurants are not cutting onions the way you explained that in the video. In fine dining restaurants most of the time the onion gets a quarter-cut and from that point on you cut julienne in 2-3 layers at once and after that, you evenly dice the onion for perfect brunoise.
He’s a UA-camr, he’s never seen the inside of a fine dining kitchen. He’s just using buzzwords to try and catch eyes. Most people can’t imagine the way stuff is processed in fine dining, it’s not about speed it’s about art.
@@kirkchurchil8216 Do you smell your own farts when they're fresh, or do you bottle them up for later?
@@hobosorcerer He ages them for maximum quality
Man that was hard to read.
@@kirkchurchil8216 It is about speed, it's just also about the way it looks. If you need to break down a dozen onions you still need to do it quickly while maintaining the standards expected by the chef.
i took 3 years of culinary courses. & youre absolutely correct. my teacher mr kim was a south korean/american chef of 30 years. he taught us so many methods thats arent widley practiced here in the states.
I’m so confused. You turn the onion 180 and make more cuts in the same direction? like what’s the purpose of turning it?
I like how the radial cut takes pretty much the same amount of time but requires more effort and precision since you have to cut it both ways.
What? The way he demonstrates is much quicker and only need to cut one way, bro you must be high😅
Did you even watch the video
It's about safety as well. Cutting horizontally in the other method is not without risk, especially if you don't have a properly sharpened knife.
Did you pay attention to the video at all?
The kanji or Hanzi on the blade says "heart" as in "mind" or "spirit" of such.
So, core?
@@Sheffy55 To clarify, there is a kanji for the actual organ and then this as heart - but I suppose that can be one figurative translation. There are tens of thousands of kanji both modern and archaic, but the radicals contribute to the formation of these characters - like sub characters and roots that build the symbols and or words.
@@awyea1801 Why call it Chinese instead of chenguohua or Japanese instead of nihongo? Kanji (hanzi) as I stated in the original comment, literally means "Chinese character" which we're both aware of.
In this specific context, I'm not sure it makes a difference if I use the English term for the Japanese word for "Han (Chinese) character" or I use the English term for the Chinese word for "Han (Chinese) character" because the kunyomi of "kanji" in Japanese - in this specific case, does not alter the original meaning of the Chinese characters - as may be the case with other uses of hanzi in the Japanese language. I'd be more concerned you used the simplified instead of traditional characters in your argument, but you do you and have a wonderful day! 👍
Best simple instructions I've seen on the subject. Thanks!
I've cooked professionally for over 16 years and I've already preferred the radial cut. Thanks for sharing.
You dont need to do any horizontal cuts. The natural way the onion is layered will let it fall apart if you just make a few straight cuts vertically first
I always watch your videos . And I have a video idea for you. Idea is best budget titanium folders. Can’t seem to find any vids dedicated to budget titanium folder options .
Thx
Cool tip!
Hell yeah!
This is genuinely helpful, thank you!
Thank you!! just tried this and it was so quick I'll always volunteer to cut the onions from now on
I never see the need to horizontal cut an onion for cooked diced onions. Onions are naturally segmented by it's fiber structure. Vertical or in this case rainbow cuts are all I need.
tbh i just only make vertical cuts (and then dice), still easier and faster than trying to cut at angles.
This is the same number of steps as the classic method. Also, always make the horizontal cuts before the verticals. Way cleaner and safer
I'm just a home cook, never took any lessons, but did see the h/v "grid" cuts being done, which I thought were silly because the onions already *had* layers which'd break apart when jostled. So I started with just the vertical cuts, but didn't like the little orphaned crescents at either edge, so started making the radial cuts to keep the pieces together as much as possible. And this is it!
I’ve worked in restaurants all my life, when we need a medium dice, we cut both ends FULLY off, and pinch each side of the onion, then cut perpendicular to the lines, straight down, then run it with the lines on an angle, once you 2/3 thru, flip in 90 degrees and finish it off. I’ve never seen this online, but this is by far the fastest way to do it and fairly precise as well.
Finally someone with sense. Although not entirely my personal method but similar.
I always thought that vertical cut method is stupid and annoying and truly doesn’t produce uniform pieces and is more dangerous.
Over the years I have independently developed this exact method. Clearly, I AM a master chef 👨🍳 I’m coming for you Gordon
The funny thing is, when you look at it closely: the grid cut doesn't produce a better dice - at least not with just one or two horizontal cuts. If you really need Star Restaurant dice, you're going to cut each layer of the onion individually anyways as that's the only way to produce a truly consistent result.
Very useful 👍 thank you
Thank you.
You need horizontal cuts if you want them to be even. It’s just 4 more cuts. No big deal unless you don’t know how to handle a knife.
If you want a great chef’s knife that works for under $40 you should check out the Victorinox, the Dexter, and the Cold Steel 6-8” knives.
All of them are well thought out and built to be used, and the Dexter (cheapest) is actually the most common knife you’ll find in pro kitchens 🤷♂️
For a home cook there is literally no difference between these two methods, because it doesn't matter if it takes me an extra minute to cut up an onion or two. I'm not going through 100 onions and saving 10s on every onion will saving me 15 minutes, I'm cutting one onion for a sauce made from canned tomatoes.
Also, it is absolutely not any safer to make radial cuts from the center versus vertical cuts and maybe one or two horizontal cuts. If you're cutting stuff at home just walk, don't run. Take your time, you have plenty of it, and your fingers are worth more than the 2 minutes of prep work you might save.
I have been cutting my onions EXACTLY like this for many decades; I figured out the easiest, quickest way, most efficient way back in the 70's!
If you use the radial cut without cross cutting, only cutting off the root end, it's a classic sauciers long cut. You can make French onion soup without the onions going to paste.
Beautiful blade👍🏻❤️
I already figured that out myself.
The only difference is that I stick the point near the buttend and cut from there.
A thin sharp knife works the best.
They may teach you the oldschool way originally, but they quickly tell you to use this method. It follows the natural shape and contour of a sphere.
One of the few cooking "hacks" that actually works.
TRUTH. I've been processing onions this way for 15 years.
Loved your video thanks for sharing 👍
Any cutting method is good enough for a home cook..
I just learned that leaving the root (the part with the roots) on while cutting is what makes you not cry 😃
I use now. Great for making even bigger bits for curry and stir-fry
Nice to see someone using natural growth patterns to dice an onion. Doing it like this for years :)
Thank you!!!
Safety is not about what grit you make but about tucked fingers and comfortable speed
The other way is a bit finer but i see your point
Been on team radial cut for almost 20 years, so much more efficient.
I mean both the grid and radial cuts are fine. Really unless you're doing a brunoise it should be serviceable. Consistency is more the complaint than most of anything else in a kitchen
If I'm home, time isn't an issue. No need to rush
Looks okay besides the fact of laying the pointer finger flat. Remember to use that claw grip to avoid going to a local ER boys and girls. Takes moments to learn and couple weeks to get into the habit.
I've been cooking my whole life and I'm just now learning this at 49yrs old! 😭
As a Professional Chef, I prefer this method
Kids we're having onion soup 🍲 tonight
His kids : again 🤦♀️🤦♂️
Let me comment - it is harder this thing you are doing at the end, also I just do the vertical lines with no horizontals. You can practice to get that crazy thin line by following the lines on the onion and don't rush the strokes. It is easier and you are walking the walk
Me just chopping it into chunks and repeatedly chopping it to get it diced
Thanks
No need to turn it around for the 2nd lot of radial cuts, just angle your knife and lead more with the point of the blade. If you slice down the lines on the onion with your radial cuts, you will get more accurate dices also.
Yeah I didn’t get the turn it around part. The full rainbow cut can be simply done left to right or right to left
This works well. I was taught to do this by a restaurant chef who was also teaching at my culinary school.
Have training, & work time as a chef. I’ve always done the second method except I’ve never really seen a need to pull the knife back to you. Double the cuts away from you if you need more pieces. If we can get people to understand not to cut the root I think that’d be a good starting point. Less teary eyes = less bloody onions.
As someone who has shaved off finger tips and exposed knuckle bones I also recommend to keep your knives sharp
Increíble el error que cometió el DIM despidiendo a Arias, por eso no progresa el FPC por la falta de respeto a los procesos
I've also never done a horizontal cut. Only diffrence in my method is, I chopped it straight and focus more on the edges. Thats why I don't get big pieces.
Horizontal cuts first then vertical cut
Made my life easer . I was afraid to cut the onion horizontaly then I bought a tool to cut the onion in little pieces but your way is Awesome . 🫡 👍 🙏 🫶 👏
Xmas ✟ & H N Year 24 🎉🎉🎉❤ USA
Learn sir thank you
I’ll try it! I’ve been cutting onions the first way for years and years.
Thank you!
I just cut them in circles and chop them. It's fast and you get a good amount of diced onions.
Except the best way is to not aim it at the center but past it so each cut has the exact same size. Kenji Lopez explains it well
Once i remember having to make dinner for everyone in my house because they were all sick with the flu and i was having a bad day, so i randomly started having a brutal war with an onion. It was messy, but it got the job done, the lasagna was still delicious and my stress was taken out! To my surprise it wasn't horrible, it was almost perfectly diced!
I've tried every onion cut known to man and this is just not faster, constantly adjusting your angle to get the correct cuts is not quicker than making more overall cuts in straight lines. Show me a video of someone radial cutting an onion faster than 'the pros'.
That's the way I've been doing it all along. No teacher needed!😅
was interested in this video until I noticed it's actually a knife commercial
Best ever!
Proper radial cut is better and more uniform than the school way.
Trust
Nice will try this
Edging. Got it
I've been a chef for 7 years so trust me when I tell you there's absolutely nothing faster or easier about this. The only thing that makes you faster is experience.
I wanna know what knife you're using
Me watching this while chopping onions with my slap chop XD
Well I'm 21 and a nurse and I cut onions like that since I'm a kid I just remove the stems too I don't think you need the extra stability but okay I also don't care about perfect equally sized cubes tbh hahaha
i like how i can cook an dish that been in my family tradition since long tine ago but cant dice up the onion and my grandma is the one who does all the cutting
Meanwhile ... a street vendor in India just chopped an entire bag of onions in the time it took you to watch this video.
What’s the knife you use? I love the lil hearts on it🥹
They taught me this method in my cooking seminar at uni 👌🏼
Michelin is the reason marco gave his stars back though.
“Once you accept you are being judged by people who have less knowledge than yourself, then what's it worth?”
that knife srcaping that board...
No one, and I mean NO ONE, cuts onions like this in restaurants. I’ve worked in kitchens for over 20 years, and if I saw another cook cutting onions like this I’d tell them to get that food network bullshit outta here!
If You want to cry less from Onion Cutting,try removing first the innermost Part, the Part with the Root, because thatis the Part that can grow again and has the most defense mechanis sinside
This is exactly how I was taught in culinary school, I laugh at nerds with horizontal cuts on an already segmented item
I laugh cause I got a food processor and can achieve a fine dice in 5 seconds.
I use a Condor Moonshiner in my kitchen 👍
I use a albion knecht kreigsmesser in the kitchen
Aim for a spot one inch below the center
I've always done this weird thing where I just chop an onion
Am I the only one who makes my lateral cuts first to avoid the sections fanning out?
The heart knife ❤
Your knife has no soul.
But thank you teaching me to cut onion.
XD what a time to be alive
just use a slap chop
That's what I usually do but I take out the center first and dice it by hand. That way there's less tiny pieces that get burned up.