How to Cut Peppers & Onions

Hello all!

So for our how to today we wanted to show everyone how to cut peppers and onions.  We have a few tips you may never have knows and want to help you out!  So we wanted to make a fast video and post about some great tips when it comes to cutting your peppers and onions!

Few tips before cutting in general.
1) Make sure your knives are sharp, clean and dry.
2) Make sure your cutting board is stable. If it is not place a dish towel under it.  That should do the trick.
3) Always use fresh ingredients!


Please also see our video on how we do this.  Sometimes directions are easier followed when viewing than reading. 

Peppers:
When Cutting a larger pepper like a Bell Pepper. 
Wash and dry the pepper
Place the Pepper standing up and use a small knife to cut the outer edges and just go down.  Cut around the pepper by making downward motions let the knife do the work.
Then trim up the pepper.
You will notice the bee-hive of seeds still remaining at the top!  Now you can toss this and non of the mess will follow.

Onions:
Note: Onions have two ends—a stem end, and a root end.  The root end looks more like the harry end, the stem as the longer pieces on it. 


Place the onion on a cutting board with the stem end pointing to the side. Hold the onion firmly with one hand, and with the other hand, cut about 1/2-inch from the top of the stem end of the onion with a sharp chef's knife. Then, turn the onion around and make a shallow cut (maybe 1/8-inch) off the root end, cutting off the stringy roots, but leaving the hard root core intact.

2 Place the onion large-cut side down on the board (with the shallow root cut side on top). With the onion stabilized on the board, position the chef's knife directly over the root end of the onion and cut straight down to cut the onion in half. Place the onion halves cut side down on the board to minimize exposure to the eye-hurting fumes coming from the cut sides of the onion.

 

3 Peel back the onion skin of one of the onion halves. There is no need to pull it all the way off if it is still attached to the root end.

 

4 Place the onion half large-cut-side down on the cutting board. Make lengthwise cuts into the onion, from root end to stem end, with the knife tip almost all the way to the root end (but not cutting through the root end). Cut at an angle as you go around the onion, with the blade aimed toward the center of the onion. The number of cuts depends on how big a chop or slice size you want, fewer cuts for thick slices or roughly chopped, more cuts for thin slices or finely chopped.

 

5  Once you are finished making angled lengthwise cuts, make cross-wise cuts. Hold the onion firmly with your fingers curled so that your knuckles press against the side of the knife as you cut the onion (this protects your fingertips from getting cut). As you make cuts from the end of the onion, scoot your hand back, using your knuckles a guide for the knife.

Cutting an Onion:

1. Cut the top and bottom, then cut in half
   Slice off and discard the top and bottom half-inch of the onion with a chef’s knife. Rest the onion on one of its cut ends and slice in half.
2. Peel the onion
   Peel off and discard the skin.
   
   Tip: It’s easier to take the skin off of cut halves then the whole onion 
3. Cutting an onion width wise, or against the grain, is for salads or if you are not cooking them.  If you cook them they will break down easier and turn to mush.  Cutting them width way is more for a salad. See below.

This is for cutting onions you will not cook.  You cut against the lines.  

1. Cutting an onion lengthwise, or with the grain, is for cooking.  The onions will not break down when you cook them or turn to mush. See Below.

This is for cutting onions you will cook.  You cut with the lines.

Onion Rings or a Burger

First peal the onion whole then cut each end off.

Cut a sliver on the side so you can stabilize the onion.

Then just cut down the entire onion.  Smaller thin sections for burgers, larger ones for union rings.

For onion rings just pop out the onion to make the rings.

For cutting onions for burgers.

For making Onion Rings.

They should look like the following...

I hope you enjoyed this blog post!  It can be tricky but once you learn how to cut different foods you will see tips and tricks!  Be sure to check out or video below to see how we did!  Sometimes watching someone is easier than reading a blog.

Thank you all again for joining us and we do hope you do try these cutting tips! They will make a difference when you cook!

Remember Cooking should be FUN, have FUN doing it!

The Cooking Corner

~Blog Team.