Onion is a food with a very strong and spicy flavor, which varies depending on the variety chosen. This means that, after consuming it, we have to deal with bad breath, even after having brushed your teeth insistently. Additionally, spiciness can completely ruin the result of a recipe by overshadowing other flavors. This happens especially if you consume it raw.
But as it could not be otherwise, there is a simple, economical and effective trick to reduce the sting of onions. With this advice, by the way, you will avoid having bad breath later. The secret has been shared by professional chef Sonny Hurrell, who has 400 thousand followers on his Instagram social network profile, with the alias @thatdude_cancook.
Normally you peel and cut the onion into slices to add it directly raw to dishes such as salads or a hamburger. “The problem is that if you eat it like this, it is too spicy and will leave you with terrible breath, which is why you are still single,” the chef notes jokingly.
To remedy this issue, the trick shared by Hurrel consists of filling a bowl with water and ice and letting the onion rings soak for 20 minutes. “This not only eliminates the sting, it also makes them much crispier,” he promises. It’s that easy and also fast and economical.
Another problem we usually face when working with onions is that it makes our eyes water. This happens because, in the soil, the onion absorbs sulfur that it releases when we cut it. Upon contact with the moisture in our eyes, it turns into sulfuric acid, irritating our eyes, which respond with tears to protect themselves.
To avoid this, there are many tricks that abound on social networks, some more ingenious and creative, others simpler. The most popular is to use diving goggles to cut onions and, although it works, it is not the most comfortable nor the safest if you are going to work with a knife, as your vision will be impaired.
Closely related to the previous trick, cooling the onion in the refrigerator or with cold water will help prevent it from irritating your eyes so much when cutting it. Cutting the onion near a window or with the extractor hood on maximum power will also help. Likewise, a striking trick that works is to place a piece of wet kitchen paper next to the onion when cutting it.
The cutting method also influences. Chef Gordon Ramsay recommends avoiding cutting the root of the onion, since more irritating compounds are concentrated there. Finally, an essential point is that the knife is well sharpened, because the sharper it is, the better it will cut, the fewer fibers it will destroy and the less tear gas it will release.
