Chopping means simply cutting something into small, usually even, pieces. You need to chop vegetables, most often onions and garlic, for many different cooking techniques, including sautéing. Chopping a vegetable follows a pretty simple procedure. This example shows how to chop an onion.
Cut the vegetable in half.
![Cut the vegetable in half.](https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/88617.image0.jpg)
If you’re chopping an onion, you also need to peel back the papery skin and cut off the top, leaving the root end intact.
Place each half cut-side down and slice the vegetable lengthwise in parallel cuts.
![Place each half cut-side down and slice the vegetable lengthwise in parallel cuts.](https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/88619.image2.jpg)
Leave 1/8 to 1/4 inch between the slices.
Make several horizontal cuts parallel to the board.
![Make several horizontal cuts parallel to the board.](https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/88621.image4.jpg)
You can decide how thick you want these cuts to be.
Cut through the vegetable at right angles to the board.
![Cut through the vegetable at right angles to the board.](https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/88623.image6.jpg)
Make the pieces you cut as thick as desired. If you’re working with an onion, just discard the root end when you’ve chopped the rest of the onion half.