1. Halve onion pole to pole—that is, cutting through top and root end. Peel onion and trim top. (It’s much easier to remove the skin once the onion has been cut.)

2. Lay peeled onion half flat side down on cutting board. With your hand on top of onion, make several horizontal cuts from 1 end to other but don’t cut through root end.

3. Make several vertical cuts. (Be sure to cut up to but not through the root end.)

4. Rotate onion half so root end is in back. Slice onion thin across previous cuts. Use your knuckle as guide for knife while holding onion with your fingertips. Pull your fingertips in towards your palm, extending knuckles outward when cutting for more control.

5. The goal when chopping an onion is to obtain evenly sized pieces that will cook at an even rate. Professional chefs often slice, dice, and chop at record speed, and this can make the task seem very intimidating to the home cook. But as you'll learn with practice, you can easily chop an onion down to size with methodical cutting techniques.