Do onions make your eyes water?

[Christina C]

I love love fried onions, but I hate hate chopping them up. They make me cry for like a hour. Its not a joke I can't stop crying after I start chopping up some onions. I really don't know what it is.

 

[sandra0530]

I remember watching food network when I was younger and there was a tip that I once tried. Cut an onion next to a stove top flame.
I don't remember exactly but when you cut an onion, the juices from the onion fly up into the air and get in your eyes causing them to water. When cutting next to a flame, the heat coming from the flame causes to reduce the spray from the onion? something along those lines.
Now a days along with everyone else, my eyes don't really water while cutting an onion. Only from time to time. But when I was younger, cutting near an open flame really worked!

 

[MyPaperBleedsInk]

It tends to vary for me. For awhile now, I haven't cried while cutting onions. But not long before that I cut into one and started crying uncontrollably... my boyfriend had to finish cutting it. We recently tried experimenting with various tips/tricks people have posted online, but none seem to work well.

 

[PSLoveCharli]

I don't know if its me but onions don't make my eyes water anymore, maybe its the strength of the onions and there not as strong as they used to be but I can't tell you the last time l peeled a really strong onion, what do you think?

Interesting question. For some reason onions do not make my eyes water -- not when I chop them and not when I eat them. No type of onion (white, red, green)... none of them do. And I eat them often! (Yuck, I know), but I chop a little onion for almost all of my meals. Onions give great taste and add their own sort of spice to a dish.

 

[Fiorabelle]

True, I'm in my early twenties now and although I love onions and use them frequently in my cooking, I can't remember the last time cutting an onion made me tear up. Whereas I can remember my eyes watering every time I helped my parents chop them as a teen.

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

Onion and garlic are natural antibiotic that is why every time we are cooking we put o lot of them in every dish and thanks God all of us in the family does not get flu, cold or cough. But it is just okay if onions makes my eyes teary every time I am slicing it because it is also one way of cleansing our eyes from the impurities inside it and there is no problem about this for me.

 

[OhioTom76]

I usually keep my onions in the fridge, or if I buy a large bag of them I will put a few in the fridge. Something about keeping them chilled seems to tone down the irritation to my eyes. I've also been told that chewing on some bread while cutting onions also helps to cut down on the tears. You could also try running a small fan to blow the onion fumes away from your face.

 

[isabbbela]

Everytime!!!To me it's a journey to cut onions... I will try putting a napkin over my mouth and nose, holding my breath, wearing sunglasses.... all sorts of crazy stuff. But nothing works! My mom says my eyes are too sensitive because even if she is the one making the food and is across the house in the kitchen, I will feel it and my eyes will water immediately.

 

[kitkat0124]

Some people told me to put the onion in water before cutting it to prevent watering of you eyes. I haven't tried it though. I don't know if some people heard about it too or even tried it on their own and if it is really effective.

 

[smlewis00]

Not really, and I finally discovered why recently; I wear contact lenses, which protects the cornea from the acids. So obvious but I never stopped to think about it.

I also wear contact lenses! I never thought about it acting as protection for my eyes! That's very clever! It makes a lot of sense though! I don't usually cry when I cut onions. Perhaps it is because of my contacts. Hm...who woulda thought!? Thanks for sharing!

 

[janineaa]

Yes! My eyes always water when I have to chop onions. The aroma is so strong at times that my eyes won't stop tearing up! I love onions though so I will never stop using them for my dishes.

 

[Lostvalleyguy]

My eyes water when I cut onions, but generally only when the onion is fairly strong. I have heard that a chilled onion will be less likely to make your eyes water - and it does make some sense. I have never tried to experiment with this though - cutting an onion in half - chilling one part then dicing both halves to see if one is better or worse.

 

[Chris_A]

I think it also depends on the color of an onion. Interestingly, white or yellow onions don`t really make my eyes water, but red onions almost always do. The worst are those big, fresh red onions that are available during summer here in my country.

 

[margarito]

I love love fried onions, but I hate hate chopping them up. They make me cry for like a hour. Its not a joke I can't stop crying after I start chopping up some onions. I really don't know what it is.

This time while you chop onions you lit a candle and keep it nearer to your cutting board. This greatly relieves from the problem of onions that make us cry. You just give it a try and let me know your feedback. I guess this helps you well.

 

[Jade]

In the past few years, onions have been making me cry whereas they never did when I was younger. I started cooking in my early teens and I was very surprised to learn that onions made people tear up, and I thought at the time that I must have some special immunity towards it. Now that I am starting to tear up while cutting onions, though, I realize I have no such super power and the onions I were getting back then were probably a lot less pungent.