7 Tips to Avoid Tears While Cutting Onions

Why do Eyes water and Ears wet when Onion is cut?

Why do your eyes get wet and tears roll down when you peel and cut an onion. You may also have felt dampness in your ear. In Indian cooking you cannot avoid Onions. It is a basic ingredient in most curries and snacks.

Cutting onions was a task that was avoided in childhood days. The task of cutting onion used to be transferred to older siblings.

The basic reason that eyes water is, that when you cut an onion, you break cells, releasing their contents. These cells are separated into two sections, the first storing amino acids, the other storing a sulphur compound amino acid sulfoxides. When you cut into the onion, these two compounds mix and the amino acids cause the sulphur compound to react, first to form a sulfenic acid and then into a gas, propanethiol S-oxide. It is this gas that reaches your eyes. The reason the gas makes you cry is that the gas reacts with the water in your eyes and forms a mild form of sulphuric acid. Tears are stimulated by the sensitive nerve endings in the eyes and by the tear ducts working to dilute the acid in the eyes and reduce the pain.

Cooking the onion inactivates the enzyme, so even though the smell of cooked onions may be strong, it doesn’t burn your eyes. You will also observe a strong odor in your hands after you cut onions. You will at times feel a faint smell even after washing your hands using hand wash solution. Opt for lime juice or rind of lime to remove the odor.

Also read: Top 6 Chemical Cleaners hiding in your kitchen

How to avoid shedding tears?

You can avoid the burning of eyes by storing peeled onions in the refrigerator prior to chopping / slicing. There are certain techniques by which you can avoid burning of eyes.

• Maintain distance from eyes, stretch your hands by holding the knife a little farther. The acid disperses in the air before reaching your eyes.
• Light a candle near the cutting board or if you have a gas stove, light a burner. Cut onions as close to the flame as possible without danger of being burned. The heat will draw the sulfur to it and away from your eyes.
• Chew gum, have a piece of bread or sugar cube in your mouth. Why does this work? The theory is that having something in your mouth encourages you to breathe through your mouth, sucking in the droplets before they hit your eyes.
• Place a small onion or a cut onion on the tip of the knife, the burning sensation is nil. The biggest joke is that all the others in the room will be furious due to burning eyes but the person cutting onions will have no problem in the eyes.
• Place a small stick( edge of a match stick) or SS spoon in between your teeth and hold it tight while chopping onions. Eyes will not water.

Logical reasons are not known but it is evident that you will not have tears in your eyes. These simple techniques do make a difference.

The root side of onions have concentric sulphur content. Advised to cut off the root side in the last. This will minimize sulfur dispersion in the air.

Hope you have got the tips to avoid shedding of tears while cutting onions.

Please add a comment and, if you like the post, feel free to share it with your friends. You can also visit our facebook page and Google plus page for more insight on other articles.