Onion Glasses

Why do we cry when we cut onions?

Can anyone tell me how to reduce the crying stuff when I cut onions? I tried wearing swimming goggles, but yet...I still cry. Even when my mom was cutting onions in the same kitchen as I am in; while I was using my laptop. yet my eyes felt spicy then i had to go to another room.Pls help!!!

Public Comments

1. You can stop that by chewing some gum. I dont kno why but apparently by chewing the gum something happens to prevent our eyes tearing up.... it worked 4 me.
2. dont breathe...
3. I put a plastic bag over my head
4. Ok..just in case you didn't know...the eye watering smell can be cut off so you dont even get so much as a tear. Hold the onion in front of you stem end up. Look at the width of the onion itself. Since the onion tapers down from the stem, estimate how far down from the top of the stem that the onion is 1/3 of the width that the onion is at its widest. Cut just below that imaginary line and toss it away. The irritant in onions comes from glands located within this portion of the onion. If you dont disturb them they wont disturb you.
5. The volatile oils in the onion is what makes your eyes burn. These oils turn into a gas state at room temperature. If the onions temp. is cooled the oils will stay in the oil state and not turn into a gas until the temp goes back up. Put the onion in the frig.. This should help get you through the cutting of the onion. When you cook the onion the oils are driven off by the heat. The time in-between is the real rub.
6. As onions are sliced, cells are broken, allowing enzymes called alliinases to break down sulfides and generate sulfenic acids (amino acid sulfoxides). Sulphenic acids are unstable and decompose into a volatile gas called syn-propanethial-S-oxide. The gas diffuses through the air and eventually reaches the eye, where it reacts with the water to form a dilute solution of sulfuric acid. This acid irritates the nerve endings in the eye, making them sting. Tear glands produce tears to dilute and flush out the irritant. Prevent crying: There are several ways to prevent or mitigate the causes of tearing. One, you could have brain surgery that would block any sensory information sent from the ciliary nerve. However, that may be a tad impractical. Water is the best route. Cutting onions under water, or soaking the onions prior to slicing will work. Choosing onions with higher water content can also lessen the tearing. This means purchasing onions that haven't been dry cured. Any "named" onions, such as "Vidalia" or "Walla Walla", will do. Dry cured onions inlcude the generic white, yellow, and red onions. If the only options available to you are the generic whites, yellows, and reds, it would be the white onions which should have higher water content, and red onions having the least amount. Another way to prevent or lessen tearing is to preventing an excessive amount of allinases from being released. The best way to do that is to cut the onion in such a way that minimally damages the tissue. In other words - the sharper the knife the better. Finally, cut the onions in a well ventilated area. The vapors released from the onion can be dispersed quickly with a fan in the area.