Disclosure: KitchenAid Canada provided me with a KitchenAid Produce Preserver and $50 for groceries. One reader is receiving the same gift!
When it comes time to chop onions in my cooking classes, there are usually a couple people in the room who will step back and gladly let someone else do the job. No biggie when you are in a room full of cooks working together, but when you are at home doing the job of meal-making alone, being able to chop an onion quickly and easily is an essential skill. I used to tear up when chopping onions too, but years ago I made a single change with my onions and I haven't welled up since (well, not about onions anyway).
The reason a lot of people need to reach for the tissues when chopping onions is a little something called alliinases enzymes, which are released when onions are chopped, producing a gas that diffuses through the air and irritates the eyes. Interestingly, onion plants and other alliums like garlic use this enzyme reaction as a defence against herbivore animals. Neat! But there's something very simple you can do to reduce the enzyme reaction rate and avoid tearing up.
So what is this easy tip? Store your onions in the refrigerator! Yup, a cold onion is much slower to produce gas that irritates the eyes. That's why I store my onions in the crisper of my fridge, instead of at room temperature, so chopping onions is a breeze when I'm cooking.
Now it's time to give away a KitchenAid Produce Preserver, which fits inside any crisper to keep fresh produce like onions fresh longer, plus a $50 grocery gift card!
Now it's time to give away a KitchenAid Produce Preserver, which fits inside any crisper to keep fresh produce like onions fresh longer, plus a $50 grocery gift card!
The contest opened last week with this post and many of you entered by leaving a comment telling me what you recently had to throw out because it went bad before you used it. It's clear I'm not the only one needing more time to get to my fruits and veggies! One winning comment was randomly selected, and now Jane Reid of London, Ontario will receive a Producer Preserver and $50 for groceries from KitchenAid Canada. Jane said:
"I love brightly coloured produce but
carried away with amounts! Things like Swiss Chard and Kale are the size of a
bouquets and go off so fast & Beets once cooked turn to mush."
Congrats, Jane! I'll be in touch with you shortly to get your mailing address. Thanks for entering, everyone! Now go put those onions in the fridge.