How to prevent from crying while chopping onions?

Answer 1

1.) Wearing a snorkeling sea mask.

2.) Wearing swimming pool goggles.

3.) Hold them under running water.

4.) Use a kitchen machine designed for the specific purpose.

5.) Tell you mom to do it.

Answer 2

This sounds strange but it really works chew gum while chopping them, and if you start crying chew really fast!

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It does work and here's why:

There are various methods, with proponents of each...

1. put the onion under water, then chop it (water absorbs the onion's gas)
2. put lime juice on the knife blade before chopping (the acid of the lime reacts with the gas of the onion)
3. chill the onion before cutting it (chilling changes the chemical compound in the onion which causes it to release less gas)
4. chew gum or eat sugar cubes (this causes you to breathe through your mouth, inhibiting the amount of gas that gets into your nose)

Basically, if you find a way to stop the odor of the onion going into your nose, you're not going to cry. Breathe through your mouth is the best advice

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Another Method that really gets to the root of the problem...

Using a knife, cut a cone out of the bottom of the onion (where the roots come out). The diameter of this cone should be about a third of the diameter of the onion, and about 1/3 deep. Take this piece and throw it away (don't put it down the disposal!). This piece contains the part/gland that makes baby Jesus and everyone else in the room cry when you're chopping it up. Once you've gotten that piece out, chop off the top, peel, and slice the onion.

Answer 3

One good prevention is to refrigerate the onion and/or the knife. This cools the gases that make your eyes tear, and causes them to move down toward the floor instead of up toward your eyes.

Here is a 99.9% sure end to the eye irritation problem wit onions. This works for me every time. # Fill a sink or bowl with sufficient water to cover the onions before you even start to peel them. # Peel the onions throw everything peels and onions back in the bowl of water. # When you have all the onions peeled separate the peels from the onions and dispose of the peels and rinse the onions. # Cover the peeled onions with water. # Take the onions out of the water as you are about to chop them and put the chopped onions in a bowl that is not right under your nose wipe the chopping board once in a while if you notice an irritation build up. by rinsing the onions with water as you work with them you just about eliminate the problem. Do it under a fume hood.

Answer 4

cut slow, if not the smell hangs on to the knife and the smell flows everywhere. cut slower and you have a less chance of the smell flowing. The best way is to cut the roots of the onion off first. Then cutting off the top. It helps alot not to take a big whiff of the onion either. :D Cutting it outside and burning a scented candle close to the onion is pretty helpful.

Answer 5

Why do onions make us cry?

Cut into an onion, and you'll likely shed a few tears. That's due to a chemical reaction that acts as a sort of defense mechanism for the onion—but with the right method, you can avoid the waterworks.

First, a quick look at the aforementioned chemical reaction. Cutting an onion damages its cells, releasing an enzyme known as Lachrymatory-factor synthase. As that enzyme spreads, it converts amino acid sulfoxides into sulfenic acid, which stabilizes as syn-ropanethial-S-oxide. (Don't worry, this isn't going to be on the test.)

Syn-ropanethial-S-oxide acts as a lachrymatory agent, and we swear that's the last big word we're going to throw at you. When the agent contacts your eyes, it mixes with your tears to create sulfuric acid, which your eyes interpret as contamination (since, well, it is contamination).

To address the problem, your tear ducts go to work, creating enough tears to wash out the chemical. That doesn't immediately make things better, so you may find yourself crying for quite a while.

By understanding that chemical reaction, we can prevent it.

Answer 6

Wear goggles.

This is the most obvious solution, and, predictably, it works. Airtight goggles should prevent the onion's enzyme from contacting your tear ducts. Of course, eye wear isn't always a practical solution.

Instead of breaking out the goggles, you might simply increase ventilation by opening a window or turning on a kitchen fan. You can also cut near an open flame, and the convection will suck away some of the gas. While this can be somewhat effective, it still doesn't address the underlying chemical issue.

Answer 7

Hold a wooden spoon between your teeth.

I'm not sure where this one came from, but there's not really any science behind it. While the wood could conceivably absorb some of the acidic agents rising up from your cutting board, it would only be slightly more effective than a metal or plastic spoon (in other words, it wouldn't really be effective at all).

But this did get me thinking; what about the cutting board itself? Could that hold a key?

Answer 8

Spray your cutting board with vinegar.

This method actually has some scientific basis, as vinegar is a weak acid. By spritzing your cutting board with a bit of white vinegar (or any other vinegar, for that matter), you can slow down the chemical reaction.

Unfortunately, while this method is somewhat effective, it has a pretty substantial side effect: It makes your onions smell like vinegar. Depending on the dish, that might not be such a good thing, and some people may find the vinegar smell to be more repugnant than the onion gas.

Another method recommends covering your knife with lemon juice, which is a bit more pleasant. Again, it works, but it does flavor your onions.

Answer 9

Microwave your onions.

This sort of sounds scientific, since "microwave" is right there at the beginning of the sentence. The idea is that it rids the onion of some of its gases before you start cutting.

Answer 10

Cut your onions underwater.

This method will stop 100 percent of the noxious gases from reaching your eyes. It will also prevent you from chopping quickly, and it might be dangerous, since you're handling a knife underwater.

You could simply run some water and cut the onion under it, but that's a pretty messy way to work. There's a reason that you don't see Michelin-star chefs plunging their hands into a vat of water every time they need to make a soup. You're better off simply rinsing your onions at the end of your prep.