Why do we cry while cutting onions and how to avoid these tears

As soon as you chop an onion, within a few seconds you notice the feeling of burning and tears and wonder how onions make you cry. There are three types of tears, including emotional tears (crying), basal tears, and reflexive tears. Emotional tears come from stress, suffering, sadness and physical pain. And if you are having a very bad day, the tears become related to an emotional situation.

As for the basal tears, they are a protective layer for the eye at all times. These tears soften the eye and eyelid. And if you experience any inflammation in the eye after crying, you can blame the basal tears.. Reflexive tears are the result of particles entering the eyes or irritating substances that irritate the eye. The common offenders include smoke, dust, onion fumes.

Onion fumes cause a teardrop reaction. Once you cut onions with a knife, the cells rupture and a chemical reaction occurs. Because the resulting gas disturbs the eye. And when you treat the eye, it irritates the nerve cells, which leads to types of flares that ask the brain to expel tears, which are called reflexive tears.

But when trying to put onions in the refrigerator before chopping it limits the enzyme's active ability and reduces the amount of gas it releases, or even chopping from top to bottom to reduce strong exposure to the enzyme.

When you happily chop onions for dinner, you notice tears running down your face. You may feel a burning sensation and a bad feeling that makes you stay away from completing dinner. The question here is why do we cry when cutting onions? Well, the answer lies in the remarkable biochemical processes. This is because onions absorb minerals from the soil and it turns out that onions are good at absorbing minerals, especially sulfur, which is used in a number of amino acids. When onions are cut, they are secreted, releasing the liquid contents and separating the enzymes in response to the amino acids rich in sulfur, forming an unstable sulfenic, which is then recombined again into a synthetic chemical known as propanethial-S-oxide. When it floats as soon as you start cutting the onion and when it contacts the eyeball, it causes a reaction in the brain by releasing tears. And when you leave the kitchen, you notice the redness of the eyes and cheeks because of the shed tears, and do not try to rinse the eyes quickly because it causes many annoying things.

Now what can you do to reduce the chemical drama of onions. Certain varieties of onions, especially sweet onions, contain less sulfur and thus make you less prone to tears or tears. You can also freeze onions two days before cutting them in the refrigerator because this slows down the enzymes responsible for unfortunate chemical events. In addition, there are a group of other tricks such as trying to breathe through the mouth while cutting or eating bread while cutting.

Tips for cutting onions without tears:

Although you love to add onions to food, the story of cutting onions is completely different, the experience may feel frustrating, and some may resort to wearing a pair of protective glasses to keep those tears away.

There are many ways to help you cut onions without tears to help you eliminate this experience:

1. Cutting onions under water:

When you chop onions under water it prevents sulfur compounds from reaching your eyes and causing you tears.. If you want to try this method and take safety precautions and with extended use, it is preferable to use a flat plate to provide the maximum amount of work space or try to put your cutting board in the sink And chop the onions under cold water and running water from the tap.

2. Freezing Onions:

You can put onions in the freezer and in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to reduce the irritation of the onions when cutting. It can be difficult for you to get rid of the outer layer of the onion.

3. Leave the roots intact:

Leave the onion roots intact and do not cut them by the stem so that you have a flat side that helps in stability of the onion, and greatly reduces tears while cutting. But be careful when following this method, and it is preferable to adhere to the use of a sharp knife and to pay attention and cut slowly to avoid accidents.

4. Putting onions in the microwave:

There are not many sources that show the effectiveness of this method. Putting onions in the microwave for 30 seconds helps you reduce the tears caused by chopping onions.

5. Matching your mouth:

Try to close the mouth completely while cutting onions and try to breathe through the nose in order to try to prevent the onion vapors from reaching the mouth and prevent the sulfur compounds from reaching your eyes.

6. Putting bread in your mouth

That may be the last solution, is to hold a piece of bread in your mouth to reduce the amount of onions that reach the eyes and prevent eye irritation and the theory here is that the bread absorbs sulfur compounds before they can reach your eyes.

7. Cooling Onions

In an experiment that cooled onions for 30 minutes before chopping them, it resulted in little eye irritation and no crying. The nutritionist suggests refrigerating the onions for a few hours before you start chopping them.

8. Turn on a fan near you.

This trick is used as an attempt to keep the sulfur compounds that stimulate tears away from you, or to place a cutting board near the fan to suck the onion fumes away from your eyes.

9. Rub lemon juice on the blade of the knife:

An easy solution is if you have another simple ingredient which is lemon juice and rub the blade of a knife before chopping onions. You will notice reduced eye irritation and tears while cutting.

10. Using a very sharp knife:

Using a sharp knife when cutting onions reduces the destruction of the cells in the onions and thus reduces the exposure of annoying sulfur compounds and helps you avoid more tears. You can test this method yourself and you will see the difference.