Tearless onion

From the GUARDIAN

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international ... 36,00.html

Cool -- because I cry slicing scallions.

I was pleased to note that this development does not destroy the health factors for which onions are famous. Or the flavor.

Interesting.

I learned from somewhere that storing onions in the refridgerator cuts down on the tears drastically when cutting onions. I've been doing this for quite a while now, but heard over the weekend that one is not supposed to do this.

Anyone out there heard the same or know why?

Yeah -- storing them in the fridge or just sticking them in the freezer for a half an hour before slicing cuts down dramatically on tears. I believe it has something to do with how quickly the sulfur compounds vaporize.

This discussion reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in the great movie Diva. A character in the film is chopping onions wearing a full-face diving mask with snorkel. I suspect that works, too.

I never used to cry while chopping onions til recently, and I read that contact lenses protect your eyes from the chemical irritants in onions. So it makes sense to me that I'm new to crying while chopping, because I only recently gave up wearing contacts for glasses.

Even with glasses, though, one trick that I've found helpful is to rinse the onion and the cutting knife off under cold water before starting and from time to time while chopping. Not a complete solution, but it helps.

A flame burning nearby is supposed to reduce tearing from onions.

chewing gum while cutting onions helps as well.

If you do not open your mouth while chopping, you should be fine.

Liz in Norwood Park wrote:If you do not open your mouth while chopping, you should be fine.

If you've seen me post on here you'll notice that me not opening my mouth is virtually impossible.