Recommended: Cold Onions
I happened to catch the show Food Detectives the other night. If you haven't seen it, you aren't missing much. I suppose it is interesting enough-- they address different food myths and tell you the science behind them. I just feel like they made an entire series out of something that could have fit into a one-hour special.
Example: In a recent episode they test the best way to recover from eating something that is too spicy. They try water, soda, beer, bread, and milk. I knew the answer before they even started, and so it didn't surprise me that they saved the milk for last. But that seems to be how every episode goes. Want to know the best way to chop an onion without tearing up? Check out the order of the theories they are going to "test," see which one comes last, and move on with your life.
That said...
I actually sat through the entire onion episode. They tried cutting the onion under water, and a couple other things I don't remember, but the last one... the last one my friends, was to make the onion cold first. They suggested that putting an onion into the fridge about 20 minutes before you need it will significantly cut down the onion chopping cry fest.
I didn't think about it again until tonight. I made a very impressive and healthy (no really, it is!) shepherd's pie. It calls for 2 onions, but I had just one whole onion in the cabinet, and a half-used onion in the fridge. I pulled out the refrigerated onion first and chopped it up without even thinking about it. Then, I took out the onion from the cabinet, and just seconds into chopping, my eyes were burning and tearing and I was wiping my face on my sleeve in an attempt to cut with my eyes open and not forfeit one of my fingers.
And then I remembered that episode of Food Detectives. A-ha! It really works!
I still don't know if I'd sit through an entire episode of the show again, but I would definitely check out all their tests, find out which one comes last... and then do that.
UPDATE: The shepherd's pie was just okay. I wasn't really a fan of the overwhelming thyme flavor. For next time, maybe some grill seasoning or seasoned salt instead? However, the mashed potato/cauliflower topping was delish. It was a nice way to lighten up the mashed potatoes without going full cauliflower mash. I ended up scraping it off the leftovers and saving only that. Heehee.
Example: In a recent episode they test the best way to recover from eating something that is too spicy. They try water, soda, beer, bread, and milk. I knew the answer before they even started, and so it didn't surprise me that they saved the milk for last. But that seems to be how every episode goes. Want to know the best way to chop an onion without tearing up? Check out the order of the theories they are going to "test," see which one comes last, and move on with your life.
That said...
I actually sat through the entire onion episode. They tried cutting the onion under water, and a couple other things I don't remember, but the last one... the last one my friends, was to make the onion cold first. They suggested that putting an onion into the fridge about 20 minutes before you need it will significantly cut down the onion chopping cry fest.
I didn't think about it again until tonight. I made a very impressive and healthy (no really, it is!) shepherd's pie. It calls for 2 onions, but I had just one whole onion in the cabinet, and a half-used onion in the fridge. I pulled out the refrigerated onion first and chopped it up without even thinking about it. Then, I took out the onion from the cabinet, and just seconds into chopping, my eyes were burning and tearing and I was wiping my face on my sleeve in an attempt to cut with my eyes open and not forfeit one of my fingers.
And then I remembered that episode of Food Detectives. A-ha! It really works!
I still don't know if I'd sit through an entire episode of the show again, but I would definitely check out all their tests, find out which one comes last... and then do that.
UPDATE: The shepherd's pie was just okay. I wasn't really a fan of the overwhelming thyme flavor. For next time, maybe some grill seasoning or seasoned salt instead? However, the mashed potato/cauliflower topping was delish. It was a nice way to lighten up the mashed potatoes without going full cauliflower mash. I ended up scraping it off the leftovers and saving only that. Heehee.
posted by Jess at 4:26 PM
2 Comments:
Another piece of advice my sister told me (although i haven't tested it and don't know if it's true-- maybe it was on the show?) is to make sure to start away from the root end. Apparently cutting the end of the onion that was attached to the plant causes more tears. Who knows?!
janie - i think that was one of the non-working experiments they tried... but hey, they don't know everything!
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