Onions are a staple in so many dishes, but why do they have to make us cry? And, more importantly, can you prevent it?
Given the way onions can traverse the range from a spicy bite to downright sweet, it’s no wonder we find them crucial to so many dishes. Cutting an onion, though, is often a dreaded kitchen task. We’ve all experienced the weepy redness that results from breaking an onion’s skin, and none of us like it.
What’s worse are the many myths that claim to prevent onion tears. Wives’ tales abound on how to stop this layered allium from making us cry, but very few of them work. So, let’s look at what really causes onion tears and what can versus what won’t stop them.
What Causes Onion Tears?
Let’s start with what makes onions such tear-jerkers. When we hold them or even peel them, everything seems just fine. But take a knife to them and, oh my, let the floodgates open! So, what gives?
When you cut through an onion’s cell walls, syn-Propanethial-S-oxide (or S-oxide for short) is released into the air. S-oxide is a lachrymatory gas, which is a fancy way of saying it makes you cry. In fact, it’s similar to tear gas, which is sort of terrifying.
Of course, we can’t be too mad about it. Onions don’t exactly want to be eaten, and it’s not like they can learn jujitsu for self-defense. We shouldn’t be surprised evolution gave them such a sneaky weapon. That doesn’t mean we have to sit there and take it though. Let’s see what we can (and what we shouldn’t) do to prevent the waterworks going forward.
Onion Tear-Prevention Myths
A lot of rumors percolate around how to prevent onion tears. We’ll get to what really works in a second, but let me save you from looking like a total fool in the kitchen, and go over what doesn’t work first.
Myth 1: Press Your Tongue to the Roof of Your Mouth
Then, without moving it, repeat after me: “This doesn’t work.”
Really, it doesn’t.
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Source : 3 Simple Ways to Prevent Onion Tears
