How to Slice An Onion

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When a recipe calls for sliced onions, you have a choice of how to slice them-lengthwise or crosswise. If you are cooking the onions, as for caramelizing them, slice them lengthwise, or from root to stem. That way they will hold their shape better during the cooking. Crosswise cut onions tend to fall apart when cooked. Alternatively, when you are adding raw onions to a salad, for example, slice them crosswise. They’ll be easier to eat, and they look pretty too! Does cutting onions give you tears? When you cut an onion, it breaks open the onion’s cel walls which releases fumes that react with the water on the surface of your eyes to form sulphuric acid. This burns your eyes, which makes you create more tears. The best way to avoid this is to limit your exposure to the cut surfaces of the onion and to work quickly. Wipe the cutting board down with a sponge or towel as soon as you are finished. The method shown here for the onion cut lengthwise will help limit your exposure to the onion fumes that make your eyes hurt. You can either slice an onion lengthwise, from stem to root, or crosswise. If you are slicing the onions to cook them, as for making caramelized onions, it's best to slice them lengthwise, or from stem to root. This way the onion holds its shape better during long cooking. To slice an onion to be used raw in a salad or a sandwich, you can halve it and then cut it crosswise, for pretty, half moon shapes, or you can keep the onion whole and slice it crosswise for onion rings.