How to Not Cry When Cutting an Onion

With two major holidays soon to be upon us you'll find yourself fixing many a large dinner for your family and friends. With these dinners quite often or not you'll find yourself cutting an onion or two and shedding a few tears. Here are some ways to avoid those long weepy spells over cutting onions.

Shed a tear?

According to Howstuffworks.com when you slice an onion you are breaking up what is known as an onion cell. Howstuffworks.com went on to explain that when these slices break open they release sulfenic acid and amino acid sulfoxides into the air. When these two enzymes mix they create a gas. When this gas makes its way up to your eyes it interacts with the fluid that surrounds your eyeball and keeps your eyes moist. When all of these elements combine a chemical reaction takes place and sulfuric acid is produced. Of course the sulfuric acid irritates your eyes. Your body then tries to produce more fluid (tears, water) to flush the sulfuric acid from your eyes, starting a very vicious and painful reaction. So how do you stop it?

First things first you could learn to cut the onion faster. Rachel Ray and Paula Dean from the Food Network make it looks so easy when in reality unless you're a talented cook or chef it takes time to peel and dice an onion. There are products that you can buy such as the Nemco Easy Dicer that will dice or slice the onion with minimal skin contact.

You can freeze your onion for twenty minutes before cutting. What this does is minimize the amount of enzymes that are released when you cut into your onion. You can also peel and cut your onions under running tap water. When you do this the sulfuric acid will actually be washed away and will never have the chance to reach your tear ducts. Believe it or not you can also cook the onion and then slice it. Cooking the onion breaks down the enzymes once again rendering it harmless to your eyes, although it is very hard to slice a cooked onion.

There are two sure fire ways to not cry while cutting into an onion. 1) Wear swimming goggles while cutting your onion. Sure you'll look silly but your eyes won't sting. 2) Make your spouse cut the onions for you.

Old Wives Tales

If the above recommendations don't work for you here are a few old wives tales pertaining stopping those tears from falling while cutting into that pesky onion.

Burn a candle while slicing the onion. The candle is supposed to draw the gas away from your face and toward the flame.

Hold a piece of bread between your teeth. The bread is supposed to absorb the gasses before they reach your eyes.