We have all felt it before - that sharp stinging sensation, peeling at the centre of our eyes and making them tear up unnecessarily; that painful feeling that brings such a great urge to scratch scratch scratch at our eyes until the smarting stops; that cloying ridiculous smell that never fails to turn our (my) stomach, produced by such a little thing - an onion. We have all felt it before - at least those of us who cook.
I hate onions.
I absolutely cannot stand them in food, snacks, or anything; unless they are blended or crushed to oblivion, unless I can't see them or bite into them. But as much as I despise these things, they are essential to the body, and also essential to making meals tasty; therefore I am forced to cook with them anyway. 😭 (When I see them in my food I pick them out and throw them away, yucky things)
Back to the topic for today; why do these nasty little fuckers make us cry? Let me tell you a bit about a chemical called syn-Propanethial S-oxide.
Syn-Propanethial S-oxide..
Is a gaseous substance that acts as a lachrymatory agent (causing tears) and triggers tearing and stinging whenever it comes in contact with the eyes. It is the main cause of tears while cutting an onion. How?
When we cut into an inion, we break the cells inside it, thus releasing lachrymatory factor synthase into the air. These synthase enzymes converts the amino acids of the onion into sulfenic acids - and sulfenic acids are very unstable and volatile in nature. (like the price of steem dollars 😁) The unstable sulfenic acids rearranges itself to form syn-Propanethial S-oxide, and when this gas comes in contact with our eyes and nostrils - the waterworks begin! The tears we produce are actually our bodies attempt to wash the chemical away. If it wasn't so painful, it would probably be pretty cool.
While doing a little research into this topic, it occurred to me that science is a beautiful thing indeed. I mean while we humans just want to cut up our onions in peace; imagine the different processes that takes place inside the body of that onion! Acids released and converted into chemicals - all under the space of seconds! Nano-seconds even. Wow.
And if not for the geniuses who decided to study the process, how on Earth were we going to know that NO - onions aren't magical; they just have a different combination of chemicals and enzymes that causes tears. So whenever you cut an onion and find your eyes smarting in pain, understand that onions are just doing what onions do! Nasty little fuckers.. 😒
How to Cut an Without Crying:
Okay guys, I have some ideas right here on how to cut an onion without crying. I'm going to be writing only the one's I've tried, and has worked for me; dunno if they'll work for you. You could give it a try though, can't hurt.
Peel your onion(s) about an hour before you want to make use of them and freeze it. Yep. Put em into your freezer and let it get cooled up nicely. After half an hour, take em out and start slicing! Though it felt like slicing into little pieces of stone, I didn't cry! Worked for me.
Chew a piece of gum while cutting onions. This is probably the most popular method out there. My mom told me this one and it works for me. While cutting your onions, just chew gum! You won't cry, and it's a great mouth exercise haha.
Use an extremely sharp knife to slice your onions. For this method you're probably still gonna cry, just not so much; because while using a very sharpened knife, the onions get chopped that much faster than before. So just chop chop chop till you're done!
Hold a piece of bread in your mouth. Yup, you heard me 😄. Don't actually eat the bread, just hold it between your front teeth while you cut up your onion. The spongy nature of the bread will absorb the gas before it gets to your eyes. Works for me!
Anyone with any other ideas on how to cut an onion without the process becoming a sob fest? Leave your comments people, I'll be very much obliged to try them out. That said - happy Steeming.
Authored by @charm29.
Wow, but i like onions @charm29. Onions is tge deal, but start loving it ooo.
Happy liking o. I hate them 😧
Wow this is awesome! I have always hated onions, never knew its this good! Thanks for sharing @airhawk-project
Thanks for reading.
I do not like it very much
but it says how useful it is everywhere
did you notice?
I have read a good article
thanks for sharing Such a intresting News....today i come to know the Fact About Crying thank you again keep it up....
Great and informative post in onions. Will try it out. Have you also tried banana 🍌 peel tea? Updated on it's uses 👌
Uuhhmmm..
All these sound so easy.. Especythe one about chewing gum or holding bread with your mouth while cutting the onions...
Are these proven facts?
I'm eager to try them out o.
I love onions a lot and my meals somehow feel empty without them...
Would try it out and come back with a feed back on if it truly worked for me or not...
Yes they are proven facts, at least by me! They all worked for me, you could give em a try! 😄
I knew about the freeze in fridge in cutting before but chewing gum is way easier than that! Your post is detailed!
@Airhawk-project I hate onions, they ain't my favourite ooh
I love onions and i do appreciate it when my eyes are heavy. It helped me to roll out those hidden tears that could cause harm
I have another idea of cutting onions without cry.
Give a very long distant between your hand and your face, in fact, through your face backward😁😁...
I feel happy to write your article on onion. I to hate when my eyes sheds tears while onion. But i like to eat it as salad. You give us a nice precaution to cut onion with tear. Thanks for the beautiful post. @airhawk-project.
Small but mighty, it can force tears out of the eyes of the mighty. A trial will convince you.@thomasama
This is very educative. I have always known that signs has an explanation for this, but I have never taken out the time to research it. Thanks for helping me to.
I absolutely hate onions too and yes, I also cook with them. But I can't stand them in beans for any reason and won't eat one that has it
Great write-up; very enlightening.