FOOD NEWS
J. Kenji López-Alt's Go-To Tip For Onion Rings That Don't Fall Apart On The First Bite
By Kalea Martin
When eating onion rings, the whole onion often ends up sliding out, leaving behind a hollowed-out ring of fried batter. Removing the onion membranes from each ring is a guaranteed way to ensure this doesn't happen, but it can be tedious and time-consuming, which is where J. Kenji López-Alt's tip comes into play.
Using a tweezer to separate the membrane from each onion layer will go a lot faster if you just stick the onions in the freezer first. As López-Alt explained in an article for Serious Eats, onions contain water, and when that water crystalizes, it expands, making the once-thin membranes easier to remove with little effort.
Shocking the onions in ice water for 30 minutes can also help, but according to López-Alt, it isn't as effective. Cuisine at Home notes that soaking onions in water will remove much of the sulfur and, therefore, the sharp flavor, resulting in mellower-tasting onion rings, but the membrane won't be as easy to peel off as it would be if you froze your onions.