How to cut an onion easily and safely

Chopping an onion is one of the most common kitchen tasks, as well as one of the easiest — assuming you know the right way to do it.

Many cooking instructors teach a technique that involves making horizontal cuts in the onion. But trust me, you don't want to do it this way — not ever! Even if your health insurance premiums are all up to date and you have a team of Red Cross volunteers standing by to give you a blood transfusion, don't do it!

Why? It's simple: Cutting sideways through an onion toward your own fingers is just ridiculously dangerous. You WILL cut yourself. Badly.

Seriously, don't do it.

But even if you had titanium hands, there'd still be no reason to cut an onion this way. An onion's natural structure already has these horizontal cuts in it, so making more is just a waste of time. And then, when you consider that the inevitable result of using this technique is a trip to the emergency room — well, honestly — did I mention, "don't do it?"