A comment about my knife technique changed how I prep onions

Had a sous chef at this spot in Portland tell me I was 'fighting the onion' with my cuts. Showed me to let the knife do the work with a gentle saw motion instead of forcing it straight down. Been using that tip for 2 months now and my dice is way more consistent. Anyone else get a simple pointer that totally shifted their prep game?

3 comments

3 Comments

richardharris2mo ago

Sharp knives are the real game changer nobody talks about. A dull blade makes you push so hard the onion turns into a mushy mess. Once you keep that edge honed and sharpened every shift, the knife glides right through. No sawing needed, just a clean drop cut. Saves way more time than learning some fancy technique.

webb.christopher15d ago

I mean, are we really acting like a slightly dull knife is the end of the world? You make it sound like you're diffusing a bomb every time you chop an onion. Yeah, sure, sharp is better, but half the time I see guys obsessing over their edge, they spend more time stropping and honing than actually cooking. A standard house knife from the back, even if it's a little worn, can still get the job done fine if you've got half a clue what you're doing. And honestly, that "mushy mess" you're talking about? More often than not it's from bad technique, not the blade. People blame the tool way too much when ninety percent of it is just slowing down and paying attention.

riverwhite2mo ago

Knife fighting an onion is a great way to look like a total noob in the middle of a busy line. My old trick was to just push down so hard the onion would skid across the board, almost took a finger off once. Took me way too long to figure out a nice rocking motion makes everything way more even, now my dice is less 'potato chunks' and more 'actual cubes.'