dicing onions & crying....

grapefruit

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 9:32 pm

I diced 5 Big onions & I can say that I never had so many tears in my kitchen ever since! I literally was gushing tears! I had to wrap my mouth & nose in a 3 ply towel in order not to breath in the smell. is there any way to reduce the sharpness of onions before its being cut?

chanahlady

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 9:34 pm

Breathe through your mouth when cutting them, not through your nose. The onion gets into the nasal passages otherwise and causes the tearing.

cuties' mom

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 9:36 pm

I stand next to the sink with the water running. I don't know why it helps, but it works for me.

chanahlady

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 9:41 pm

Also use a very sharp knife. That way you're slicing through cleanly rather than crushing the onion with a dull knife before it cuts. The crushing releases more of the compounds that cause tearing.

laughter

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 9:57 pm

they say that keeping the onions in fridge helps.
I put on glasses everytime I dice onions it reallt helps

Basimcha

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 10:02 pm

I wear sunglasses and stand by the running water next to the sink---its a lifesaver for me!

causemommysaid

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 10:02 pm

this sounds crazy but it really works

before opening the onion- take a large tablespoon and firmly tap the onion all around on all sides.

for some reason this makes me not tear up

jflower

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 10:22 pm

I recently read that if you chew gum while slicing onions, your eyes won't tear. I tried it last Fri. and it worked for me.

pina colada

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 10:38 pm

I keep my onions in the fridge and my eyes don't tear. the only time my eyes tear when dicing onions is when they are straight out of the bag, from the store.

before anyone disagrees, try it.

Chana Miriam S

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 10:39 pm

contact lenses, if you have them, or clear swimming goggles

Zahava

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 10:51 pm

I once read that a substance (maybe enzymes?) in the onions is released in the air once it is opened and it sort of "connects" to the nearest liquid, which is very often the natural tears in your eyes and makes it sting causing you to tear constantly to kinda flush it out. But if you keep the faucet running that substance will head to that water sooner than your eyes and this method will therefore eliminate tearing of the eye.

My head is kinda fuzzy now so I can't remember the exact terminology, but that's the gist of it.

Marigold

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 11:06 pm

I've tried most of the above advice already and still I end up shedding rivers of tears every time I so much as look at an onion. The next thing I'm buying will be these.

http://www.amazon.com/RSVP-Int.....r=8-1

Last edited by Marigold on Thu, Nov 11 2010, 1:29 am; edited 1 time in total

mha3484

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 11:13 pm

I am the same way major waterworks so now I cut the onions in laerge chunks and put them in the food processor. It has made a world of difference.

Mrs. XYZ

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 11:27 pm

I have a great, 100% foolproof method. If your sitting by the table dicing onions, put a standing fan right behind you, it'll blow the air away from you, you wont feel a thing! Just make sure noone sits on the other side of the table, cause they'll get it all Wink

Chloe

Thu, Nov 11 2010, 12:48 am

You gotta love onions!!! It's a great reason to use for your kids when you're really crying. "Oh no honey, I've just finished cutting up some onions" Yeah, lol.

Young Lady

Thu, Nov 11 2010, 12:58 am

Not only do I cry when cutting onions, I sometimes even get a headache afterwards..(only when I dice quite a few). I always keep them in the fridge, it kinda helps, but other times I wear clear goggles!! Very Happy

bonitag1

Thu, Nov 11 2010, 1:07 am

I've heard that keeping a burning candle next to where you're cutting onions helps.
Here's a list of suggestions:
http://www.ehow.com/how_202746......html

Karnash

Thu, Nov 11 2010, 5:13 am

A scuba diving mask works great!! LOL

Looks ridiculous but works great!