The war between women and onions has been there since times immemorial. And in this unending battle, victory lies with the onions and women are left crying. But it is time to turn the tables around. Now, no need to shed your tears, at least not in the case of onions.
The reason why onions make you cry is when you cut the shoot or the hairy part, the root, they release a kind of enzyme. This enzyme reacts with the rest of the onion to release a gas. This gas combines with water and forms an acid. If you have water in your eyes this gas with combine with it and produce acid in your eyes. This gives your eyes a burning sensation and makes you cry and slowly you feel difficulty in opening your eyes wide.
Onions are the basic ingredients to almost all the dishes being cooked in your kitchen. To avoid the use of it seems quite impossible as it provides the base flavor to your dishes. So to chop onions without having to cry, follow these tips.
1- Make use of sharp knife while cutting onions: the enzymes are released only when its cells are crushed; by using sharp knives you will be crushing fewer cells hence very few enzymes will be released.
2- Freezing the onions for 10-15 minutes before cutting them: this is the best and a tested method of cutting onions without causing the release of enzymes hence, tears can be avoided.
3- Wear goggles or lenses: wearing air tight goggles keep the gas away from combining with the water in your eyes. Same is the case with lenses. They help in creating a barrier between the released gas and your eyes.
4- Cut the onions under running water: cutting the onions under water helps the gas to flow down in the direction of water hence it fails to rise up and reach the surface of your eyes.
5- Soak the onions in salt water or normal water: the ionic content of the salt water or normal water denatures the enzyme.
6- Chew gums: it is a well tried method. Many people claim that chewing, gums while cutting onions help them avoid tears.
Follow this simple tips and next time the victory will be yours and the onions will have to lose.
