Hacks that make life a little bit easier.

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#2696620 22-Apr-2021 12:25

I haven't got an alligator, but do have a mandolin for slicing/ julienning. It's quite the weapon if you're doing something in bulk, but cooking for 3 or 4 people, it's not worth using IMO, sharp knife does the trick, the mandolin is a bit of a swine of a thing to have to clean after use, and I can't or shouldn't bung it in the dishwasher.

neb

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#2696712 22-Apr-2021 14:45

Fred99:
If you're dicing them, then peel off the skin, cut ends off, then cut the onion in half and quickly put the cut side down on the cutting board. Slice the half longitudinally holding the onion together, then slice across. It's a fast way to dice them evenly too - at least once you're used to doing it that way.

Or google "onion chopper", specifically the type where you press down on the lid and it pushes it through the chopper and into an enclosed container below.

floydbloke

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#2696721 22-Apr-2021 15:13

I love red onion.

Fred99:

...

Another tip with red onions, if you're slicing them in rings or whatever to eat raw in salads, dunk the slices in hot salted water for a couple of seconds - not too long or they'll go soggy. It takes the pungency away - ...

to me that's a bit like drinking decaf, or trying to play tennis without balls.

Sometimes I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.

networkn

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#2696723 22-Apr-2021 15:24

floydbloke:

to me that's a bit like drinking decaf, or trying to play tennis without balls.

Serena Williams might have something to say about that :) She does it all the time.

floydbloke

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#2696725 22-Apr-2021 15:28

networkn:

floydbloke:

to me that's a bit like drinking decaf, or trying to play tennis without balls.

Serena Williams might have something to say about that :) She does it all the time.

Yeah, well, if she drank proper coffee the excessive caffeine could make her fail a doping test.

Sometimes I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.

Fred99

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#2696979 23-Apr-2021 10:35

neb:
Fred99:

If you're dicing them, then peel off the skin, cut ends off, then cut the onion in half and quickly put the cut side down on the cutting board. Slice the half longitudinally holding the onion together, then slice across. It's a fast way to dice them evenly too - at least once you're used to doing it that way.

Or google "onion chopper", specifically the type where you press down on the lid and it pushes it through the chopper and into an enclosed container below.

But then you've got to clean the onion chopper.

Onions, garlic etc usually get biffed in a pan first or early, vs keep using the knife and board to cut other ingredients, at the end of food prep you've got a knife and cutting board to clean, not a stack of probably dishwasher unfriendly so-called "time saving" kitchen convenience solutions.
Disclaimer - I'm a kitchen minimalist. Half the gadgets already in "my" kitchen I'd biff in the recycle/trash bin already, but I'd probably find half the tech gadgets I do like elsewhere in the house would be tossed in the bin in retaliation.

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Paul1977

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#2696981 23-Apr-2021 10:36

geoffwnz:

Wakrak:

Is there a hack for stopping tears rolling down my face when I cut onions?

Contact lenses work. Just make sure you *very* thoroughly wash your hands before attempting to remove said lenses. That's a mistake you only make once.

My partner was complaining about this the other day, and I commented on how it doesn't happen to me (but used to). I never considered it was my contact lenses, I thought I'd just "grown out of it".

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#2696982 23-Apr-2021 10:40

Fred99:
But then you've got to clean the onion chopper.

The one I have has a silicone-style grid that you push over the bit that pushes the onion through the blades, you just peel that off which removes any onion remnants and rinse it and the chopper. It's barely any more work then cleaning a cutting board and knife, and saves you a ton of hassle when chopping the onions.

Fred99

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#2696986 23-Apr-2021 10:55

floydbloke:

I love red onion.

I do too. I also like meat and fish and cheese, but as head cook and bottlewasher, I (too) often have to serve up what people will eat, vegan food, GF food, peanut-free food, kosher/halal food etc etc, I even have two friends who are allergic to capsicum & chillies. My SO has the habit of inviting an assortment of these people for dinner at the same time. I'd really like to avoid it all - just have Epipens and Richard Dawkins books laid out on the table with the cutlery, but I have to go with the flow.

Fred99

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#2696988 23-Apr-2021 11:00

neb:
Fred99:

But then you've got to clean the onion chopper.

The one I have has a silicone-style grid that you push over the bit that pushes the onion through the blades, you just peel that off which removes any onion remnants and rinse it and the chopper. It's barely any more work then cleaning a cutting board and knife, and saves you a ton of hassle when chopping the onions.

Yeah - but if you do it right, then there shouldn't be a ton of hassle chopping onions.

Anyway, as per my previous post - there are 1001 other and worse things to make me cry in the kitchen.

Bung

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#2697087 23-Apr-2021 11:41

I do the onion beside the stove with extractor running. Fumes go up vent.

Rick Stein was slicing something on a mandolin saying how dangerous they could be as he took the tip off a finger. Mandolin biffed into rubbish.

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#2697091 23-Apr-2021 11:48

I've been putting onions under the tap before halving, then the two halves under tap water, no issues ever. The water must smother most of the fumes

MadEngineer

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#2697305 23-Apr-2021 18:23

Haven't had that problem since I was maybe 10 years old. I'm probably just chopping them real quick to get them into the frying pan before it gets too hot.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

JayADee

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#2697420 24-Apr-2021 07:07

neb:
timmmay:

I got a jar opener years ago, works great.

Tried one of those and wasn't very happy with it, it tended to just slip for anything too tight. I ended up getting the Oxo opener, which I couldn't live without. Only downside is that, cross-referencing the outrageous examples of the NZ tax thread, it's only $9.95 if you get it outside NZ, here it's around three times the price.

I have one of these. Works well.

On stainless (ie our gas hob and backsplash and edges of drawers) use a clean cloth and drizzle of dishwashing soap and spread the soap thinly to make a barrier. When it dries you can’t see it and then it makes grease, splashes etc easy to get off. It's a lifesaver because my husband cooks a lot. I never clean the cook top without it.

It also works super well on camping dishes or wood oven gear or anywhere you don’t want wood smoke stains which is where I first started doing it. Also works well to prevent new paint sticking until it cures.

MadEngineer

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#2697561 24-Apr-2021 15:29

The above reminds me of this trick you can do before having a shower:

If you don't have a heated bathroom mirror place the smallest amount of soap on a finger then touch the mirror and spread it with a dry cloth or tissue, buffing it out with no water till it's all gone. The surface tension of the soap prevents it from fogging up.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

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