How-to dice an onion

In a continuation of my "How-To Summer Series," I would like to proudly present a proper way to dice an onion. I would like to continue to stress how influential consistent and well executed cuts can make a difference in how your dish turns out. 

This explanation will also expose you many safety issues surrounding dicing an onion. I would really like to stress this since not earlier this week a new person was dicing an onion for the first time at work, and cut themselves pretty bad. I don't want you to cut the tip of your finger off or slice your skin through to the bone and have to rush to the ER room. So, please go slowly with this and practice, practice, practice. Safety is the key here!

Step 1:

Gather: a sharp knife, an onion (or how ever many you need to do), and a cutting board. 

Step 2:

Slice the longer end (not the hairy end) all the way through, creating a flat surface. 

Step 3:

Place flat side of onion down on the board. Cut down the middle of the "hairy" end as shown below.

Step 4: 

Remove the skin from each half of the onion completely.

Step 5: 

Rotate the onion so that the flat end is parallel to your body position as depicted below. Then, place your palm on the top of the onion. Make an incision at the bottom of the onion and work your way up.  You control the size of the dice by this first step. You can do a lot of cuts, and have a small dice; or have less cuts and create larger dices for soups and whatnot. Keep in mind as well that you should not go all the way through the onion. Keep a 1/4" distance from the end of the onion so that it stays intact while you are cutting it. Go all the way through and you will have your onion laying in slices all over the place.

It is important that you keep your fingers straight at this point of the procedure. Keeping your ligaments parallel to the knife prevents them from bending and being exposed to the blade, resulting in you loosing the tip of a  digit or two. So, keep your thumb up, and your fingers straight to avoid this!

Step 6:

A small dice on a medium sized onion should look something like this before progressing to the next step. 

Step 7: 

Start slicing perpendicular to your previous cuts, but from the top of the onion like so. Please note that I am not going all the way to the end, and I am leaving room so that the slices stay intact to the onion. 

Step 8: 

It is important to notice here how I am guiding the knife with my fingers. My middle finger guides the blade while being tucked in to avoid contact with the tips of my finger. My pointer finger and ring finger press down to hold the item in place. My thumb and pinkie are pinching the side and tucked in so that I can allow my middle finger to move freely and guide the blade. 

In an effort to make cuts consistent, the distance of this cut should be the same distance as the previous cuts.  

Step 9:

Return to the original starting position and cut perpendicular to the previous cut. Starting at the top and moving from the cut end towards the "hairy" end cut all the way through the onion. Keep your fingers behind your middle finger to ensure safety. 

Step 10: 

Here is a POV shot of going half way through the onion. Note that the distance of these cuts should be the same as the previous two to ensure a square cuts and to keep it sexy. 

Store in a sealed container in the fridge for later use; or use immediately.