Helpful Hints from joeeze: How to cut an onion

The debate's been raging since agriculture began — across to yield rings or pole-to-pole (far less visually appealing).

The returns are in, via Charles Kelsey's article headlined "Basic Vegetable Prep," appearing in the just-out January/February 2009 issue of Cook's Illustrated.

Wrote Kelsey, "The way in which onions are sliced makes no difference to flavor, but we find it does affect appearance, especially in soups, stews, and braises. Cooked in liquid, onions sliced against the grain (parallel with the root end) turn lifeless and wormy-looking. Sliced with the grain (pole-to-pole), onions retain more shape and become a more significant component of a dish."

There it is, then.

Nothing too large, nothing too small when it comes to improving your life — that's what we're all about.

Please note that in the video up top, the guy starts out by correctly slicing the onion in half pole-to-pole, then inexplicably lapses into half-rings for his grand finale.

Don't be like him.

Your pot roast will thank you.