Is there anyway I can make cutting onions easier on my eyes?

Question

Im already using a food chopper and not just a knife, but the onion is still killing my eyes. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Freeze the onions first, for about 10 minutes - that will do the trick!

Good luck.

Answer 2

First of all, if you are using a food chopper, you are "crushing" the organics that cause the "eye watering" even more than you do when you are hand-chopping. The problem with hand chopping is the amount of time you are exposed to the crushed oils in the onion. So what to do? More oils using a mechanical chopper or less oils but more time spent using a quality chopping knife and technique?

Any answer that involves cutting the onion under cold water will do - but it will wash away the organic "esters" that give onion its taste. It also increases the risk of cutting yourself - seriously! How can you "dice" an onion under runing water? It is nonsense.

Cutting a cold onion ( I always store mine in the cooler (fridge)) is easier, but only for about 4 slices!

The best way is goggles, but most of us don't want to look like an industrial welder in the kitchen!

Try some safety glasses with the side guards - they are not perfect, but will help. They will also help with frying. Another tactic is to partially cut your onion, walk away for a minute, and return to the task. It does work better.

It may help you to know that the more you dice onions, the more accustomed you become to the tears. Also, different onions produce different effects. Try using Vidalias or Spanish onions rather than the more harsh supermarket "yellow" or "cooking" variety.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Onions are notorious for causing teary eyes and bad breath. In both cases, sulfur-containing compounds are the culprits. That ability to bring tears to just about any dry eye is caused by sulfur-containing fumes given off as the onion is cut. This chemical is so volatile that it has been difficult to study. The predominant view today is that the volatile sulfur compound combines with the moisture in your eye to form sulfuric acid, so it's no wonder you want to cry.


You can avoid the eye irritation by chilling the onions first so that the chemical will be less volatile. Alternatively, the onion can be peeled under cold running water. The water will dissolve the fumes before they reach your eye.

As for the bad breath, yet another sulfur-containing compound is at work, this time within a volatile oil that enters the lungs and then is exhaled with the breath. Many a remedy has been recommended, including munching a mouthful of parsley, celery tops, coffee beans, cardamom seeds, roasted beet roots or cloves. None of these remedies appear to work every time for every mouth, so it's best to invite your friends and relatives to share your onion with you.

Answer 4

I have been a chef for almost 15 years and have asked myself this question millions of times. The answer is NOTHING. All the various tips and tricks with bread or ice or water really just serve to distract your mind. Doctors call it the Placebo Effect.

On a side note...you should never ever store your onions in the refrigerator. Keep them in a paper grocery bag in the bottom of a dark dry cabinet.

Answer 5

Use a very sharp knife to keep the "gases" of the onion down by not doing as much damage to the onion cells.

Answer 6

try freezing the onion in the freezer before cutting it. This may help with the onion juices not get into the eyes.

Answer 7

Try different onions. There are different types of onion in your local market. I think the strongest ones that burn your eyes are the orange looking ones. Try the white ones or even the purple ones. They are all good.

Answer 8

Make sure that the onions are fresh and chilled. Breath through your mouth and not your nose, you will have less issues with your sinuses which is part of the reason your eyes water and burn

Answer 9

wear clear glasses that cover the eyes - like lab glasses or goggles

cut the onion under running water as much as possible


some onions have less of that chemical that causes the eye pain - like Vidalia or Walla Walla onions.

Answer 10

Put on some goggles.

Put a piece of bread in your mouth..abit hanging out so the onion juice hits it.

Chew gum.

Answer 11

keep your onions in the fridge make sure they are cold this helps and you can light a match and blow it out and hold the stick between your teeth, this seems to work. and by the way when you want to get the onion stink off of your hands after wash in cold water.