Soaking onions doesn’t remove much pungency Rinsing under hot water is the best way to remove an onion’s bite, leaving behind just its sweetness L et’s say you happen to have an extra-pungent onion—it happens to the best of us—is there a way to tame it? I tried out a few different methods, from submerging onions in cold water for times ranging from 10 minutes to hours, to chilling them, to letting them air out on the counter Soaking the onions in a container just led to onion-scented liquid in the container, without much of a decrease in the aroma of the onions themselves ... chilling them, to letting them air out on the counter Soaking the onions in a container just led to onion-scented liquid in the container, without much of a decrease in the aroma of the onions themselves...Rinsing under hot water is the best way to remove an onion’s bite, leaving behind just its sweetness L et’s say you happen to have an extra-pungent onion—it happens to the best of us—is there a way to tame it?