How To Stop Onions From Making You Cry

Photo by Caroline Attwood on Unsplash

Onions end up being part of most meals but chopping them isn’t always easy. If you are prone to getting the waterworks whenever you cut an onion, you might want to take a look at these tried and tested methods for cutting an onion without the tears.

Run the Onion Under Cold Water

Run the onion under cold water before you chop it. Apparently, this washes off some of the compounds that cause your tear ducts to flare up. The only downside to this method is that it makes chopping a little more difficult due to the onion becoming slippery.

Chewing Gum

Chewing gum is supposed to encourage you to breathe through your mouth rather than through your nose. It doesn’t work for everyone, but some people swear by this method. It works best with a minty flavor.

Bite a Wooden Spoon

This is another method that is meant to encourage you to breathe through your nose instead of your mouth. It works for some people and it’s an easy one to try as you probably already have a wooden spoon to hand in the kitchen.

Cut The Onion Under a Fan

This is probably the best method for cutting an onion without crying. The fan blows the sulfur air away from your eyes so you can save the tears for a rewatch of The Notebook.