Onions are part of many dishes. However, they have to be peeled and usually chopped up before use. With a few tricks and a little practice, it is possible to free the onions from their skins quickly and without tears.

If the onion is bathed before cutting, it excretes fewer essential oils

What you should know about onions

Onions are delicious and popular in all variations. Whether raw, fried or steamed, the spicy vegetable is a basic ingredient in almost all recipes. In addition, the tuber has a variety of healing effects. It helps digestion with its essential oils, these also bring relief from coughs (cough syrup with onions) and help to drive away earaches (onion bags on the ear).
The annoying flow of tears when cutting onions is well known. The sulphur-containing ingredients in the onion are responsible for this, they irritate our mucous membranes.

Peel onions properly

If you want to cut onions quickly and without annoying tears, you should definitely consider the following tips and tricks:

  1. Use a very sharp knife for the peeling job. A dull blade will spread the onion instead of cutting it. This will release more essential oils.
  2. Soak your cutting board and then place the onion cut-side down on it. The essential oils are bound a little bit, you have to cry less.
  3. First cut off the roots. Leave the end of the handle attached to hold it better.
  4. Halve the onion.
  5. Now push the tip of the knife under the thin onion skin and pull the skin off in the direction of the base of the stalk.
  6. Now cut half the onion lengthwise into thin strips, these should still hold together at the base of the stalk.
  7. Then cut the strips crosswise into strips so that even cubes are formed.
  8. Do the same with the second half of the onion.

Another similar method is to peel the onion the other way around.
First, soak the onion in water. It's easier to peel and the essential oils don't disperse as quickly, so fewer tears!

  1. Cut the onion lengthways.
  2. Now loosen the skin on the upper part or at the base of the onion with a sharp knife.
  3. Peel off the skin in strips towards the base of the root.
  4. If you want to dice the onion, do not cut off the roots until you have finished cutting. This keeps the onion together and you can grip the tuber better.

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

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Vegetable garden