Subscribe

RSS Feed (xml)

Google
 

26 January 2009

Cut onion without crying

I always in tears while cutting an onion and feel like a baby. When I make onion I ask hubby to cut the onions for me. After watching this video I am hoping I'll be tears free.




Here's some Steps to Chop Onions Without Tears

Use a Sharp Knife

1. Use a very sharp knife when cutting onions. The enzymes are released when cells are broken or crushed; using a sharp knife slices through the onion rather than crushing and thus, fewer enzymes are released.

Chill the Onions
1. Chill your onions in the freezer before cutting them. This reduces the amount of the acid enzyme released into the air. This was found to be the most effective way to reduce tears by the television program Food Detectives.[1]

Don't get the gas in your eyes
1. Wear gas-tight goggles or a mask;
2. Cut the onion next to a strong draft from a fume hood or fan so that the gas is pulled away from your eyes; or
3. Wear contact lenses (easy enough if you wear them anyway) - they create a barrier between the surface of your eyes and the gas.

Absorb the gas in water
1. Cut the onion under water
2. Cut the onion near running water or a cloud of steam (from a kettle or pan of water)
3. Breathe through your mouth (to draw the gas over your wet tongue) or stick your tongue out.

Slow or stop the reaction that makes the gas
1. Put vinegar on the chopping board (the acid denatures the enzyme);
2. Soak the onion in water (the enzyme is denatured by the water-air boundary); or
3. Soak the onion in salt water (the ionic solution denatures the enzyme).

The Candle Method
1. Light a candle and set it near the cutting board before cutting the onion. The gas released by the onion is drawn into the flame of a candle.

Onions are Tubular

1. Because onion "flesh" is tubular in construction - like thousands of tiny tubes side by side, pointing toward the top and bottom of the onion - pointing the tubes away from you while cutting will keep the onion from spraying in your eyes. Of course, a breeze of any kind can send the fine, misty spray toward your eyes, so pay attention to air currents too.

Chewing
1. Chew bread or gum. Many people report that chewing, especially gum, helps avoid tears when cutting onions.

Cut carefully to avoid releasing the enzyme (watch video above)
There are many ways to do this, but the important thing is to avoid cutting the root until you really need to, as this is where the highest concentration of enzymes is located.