How to safely chop an onion

Our chef, Josh gives his verdict on the safest way! 

There are two main ways to tackle an onion: slicing and dicing. In this guide we will go through both step by step. 

Slicing:

1. Begin by chopping off the top and root of the onion with a knife. 

2. Next place the onion on its flat side and chop in half, then peel.

3. Now take one half, and place the largest flat side face down on the chopping board. Note the direction of the lines on the onion’s outer layer, this is the direction you will be slicing, line it up with your knife if you are unsure. By slicing in this direction we reduce the chance of the onion falling apart halfway through chopping.

4. Place your free hand on top of the onion to hold it steady, make sure to keep your fingers out of the way of the blade of the knife.

5. Now slice from the far side moving the knife slowly across towards yourself. When you reach about halfway, you may find that the onion is wobbling about, tip it so that it falls on its wider, flat side and continue.  Repeat with other half to complete.

Dicing:

1. Slice off the top of the onion, but leave the root on, this is important as you will see in the steps to come.

2. Place the onion on its flat side, then chop down through the root to create two halves, peel these.

3. Now, take one half and place on its largest flat side with the root at the end furthest away from you. The lines of the onion, should be running down towards you. Again as with in the slicing technique, these are a guide to the general direction we will be cutting, however this time we wont be cutting through the root end. 

4. Slice across the onion in the direction of the lines but leave a 1-2 cm gap at the root end of each slice intact. This will leave you with set of onion slices held together at the root end. 

5. Now rotate the onion and cut at a 90 degree angle in the other direction. Repeat with other half to complete. 

Check out this short video which will take you through each step and give you a visual guide on how to dice an onion: