Onions are a versatile vegetable used in many dishes, but peeling them can bring tears to your eyes. The sulfur compounds in onions produce a gas that irritates the eyes, causing them to water when you cut into an onion. Fortunately, there are some tricks you can use to peel and cut onions without crying. Here are the top tricks to peel onions without tears.
Why Do Onions Make You Cry?
Onions contain amino acid sulfoxides, which form propanethial S-oxide when the onion’s cells are damaged. The gas drifts towards your eyes and mixes with the tears in your eyes to form sulfuric acid. This irritates the eyes and causes stinging, watery eyes.
The concentration of sulfur compounds varies in different types of onions. Stronger, more pungent onions like yellow onions have more of the eye-irritating compounds compared to sweet onions like Vidalia. This is why stronger onions tend to make more people cry when peeling and cutting them.
Trick 1: Chill the Onion
One of the simplest tricks is to chill the onion in the refrigerator or freezer before cutting it. The cold temperature helps slow down the chemical reaction that produces the tear-inducing gas.
Here’s how to chill an onion:
- Peel the papery outer skin off the onion first.
- Pop the onion in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes before cutting.
- You can also freeze the onion for 10-15 minutes for quick chilling.
The chilling gives you time to cut the onion with minimal irritation to your eyes. Make sure not to over-chill the onion or it could damage the texture when cutting.
Benefits
- Simple and easy trick with ingredients on hand
- Slows down chemical reaction that causes eye irritation
- Works for most types of onions
Downsides
- Takes time to thoroughly chill onion
- Not as effective for very pungent types of onions
Trick 2: Cut Under Running Water
Another way to minimize exposure to the gas is by rinsing the onion with water while cutting it. The water washes away the irritating gas before it reaches your eyes.
Follow these steps:
- Trim off ends of the onion and peel off outer layer
- Turn on tap water to a gentle stream
- Hold onion under running water and cut into slices or dice
- Make sure your fingers are away from the path of the knife
The constant rinsing while cutting pushes the gases away from your face, preventing them from collecting in high enough concentrations to irritate eyes.
Benefits
- Immediately rinses away irritants during cutting
- Convenient with tap water
- Effective for all types of onions
Downsides
- Can create a mess around the cutting area
- Need to position onion well to keep it under stream
Trick 3: Use a Sharp Knife
A sharp knife is essential for cutting onions cleanly without crushing cells. Using a dull knife crushes the onion’s cells, releasing more of the gas.
Follow these tips:
- Use a chef’s knife or other sharp utility knife
- Slice in one smooth motion without sawing back and forth
- Sharpen knife regularly with a stone or electric sharpener
- Cut away from your body, keeping fingers curled under
The clean cut helps limit how many onion cells release the irritating gas. Letting the knife do the work also reduces the crushing motion that forces out more of the compounds.
Benefits
- Limits gas released from onion cells
- Creates uniform, clean cuts in the onion
- Good practice for knife skills
Downsides
- Need a high-quality, sharp knife
- Need to maintain knife sharpness
- Less margin for error cutting with a sharp blade
Trick 4: Use a fan
Setting up a small fan to blow air across your cutting board can waft the gases away before they reach your eyes. Just make sure the fan is positioned so it does not blow bits of onion around.
Here are some tips when using a fan:
- Use a box fan or small desk fan
- Position to side of cutting board to blow across, not directly on onion
- Cut at an angle, with your body out of the path of the gases
- Adjust fan speed as needed
The airflow should disrupt the rising gases so they diffuse instead of going towards your face. Play around with fan placement and cutting angle to find what works best.
Benefits
- Uses readily available fan
- Good for quick peeling/chopping sessions
- Can adjust placement and speed as needed
Downsides
- Need an electrical outlet and fan
- Fan needs to be adjusted properly to work
- Not as effective for large onion volumes
Trick 5: Use a Grater
Grating the onion is an easy way to avoid exposure to the vapors. A box grater or microplane works well for achieving a grated texture for onions.
Here’s how to grate an onion:
- Peel outer skin and trim top and bottom
- Hold onion securely by the root end
- Grate in long strokes over a bowl or cutting board
- For safety, grate away from your fingers
The grated bits fall away from your face, keeping the onion vapors from wafting upwards. Grating also breaks up the onion a bit to help dilute the concentration of irritants.
Benefits
- No onion vapors released near face
- Quick and easy cleanup
- Useful for recipes needing grated onion
Downsides
- Need a box grater or zester
- Not useful if larger slices/pieces needed
- Potential to grate knuckles if not careful
Trick 6: Cut With a Spoon
You can use a spoon to thinly slice onions, keeping the vapors away from your eyes. Use a sturdy metal spoon for this technique.
Here are the steps:
- Peel outer skin and trim ends of onion
- Hold base of onion securely in your hand over a bowl
- Use the tip of the spoon to slice off thin pieces
- Work from the top down, turning as needed
The curve of the spoon keeps the onion vapors from floating upwards towards your eyes. Take care to cut away from your fingers for safety.
Benefits
- Metal spoon easily slices through onion
- Curved shape blocks vapors
- No special tools required
Downsides
- Takes practice to get thin slices
- Not ideal for chopping or dicing
- Need to position onion steady in hand
Trick 7: Use Eye Protection
You can shield your eyes from the irritating onion gases by wearing eye protection like goggles. Use tight-fitting goggles that seal around the eye area.
Follow these tips:
- Wear goggles or sealing safety glasses
- Make sure they fit snugly on your face
- Cut away from your body, leaning back slightly
- Consider a mask too to cover nose/mouth
The eye protection forms a barrier between your eyes and the onion vapors. Just be sure to get a good fit so vapors don’t sneak in from the sides.
Benefits
- Blocks all onion vapors from reaching eyes
- Lets you focus while chopping
- Reusable for when chopping more onions
Downsides
- Can be uncomfortable to wear goggles
- Need to disinfect goggles between uses
- Not practical for quick onion slicing
Trick 8: Use a Lemon Slice
Rubbing a lemon slice around the edges of the onion can block some of the vapors. The acid from the lemon alters the onion’s compounds before you cut into the onion.
Follow these instructions when using a lemon:
- Slice both ends off onion and peel
- Cut a lemon slice and rub cut sides along onion edge
- Let onion sit for 5-10 minutes after rubbing with lemon
- Slice onion as normal
The lemon juice reacts with the onion’s sulfur compounds to neutralize some of the irritating gas before it releases. Letting the onion rest gives time for the reaction.
Benefits
- Uses easily accessible lemon
- Pre-treats the onion to limit gas
- Nice pairing of lemon and onion flavors
Downsides
- Need a fresh lemon on hand
- Can leave acidic taste if overdone
- Still potential for some onion vapors
Trick 9: Soak in Water
Soaking peeled and chopped onions in water for 5-10 minutes can diminish the tear-inducing compounds. The sulfur gases that cause eye irritation are water soluble.
Follow these tips for soaking onions:
- Peel and chop onions first
- Place chopped onions in a bowl of water
- Let soak for 5+ minutes, up to 30 minutes
- Drain and pat dry before cooking
Soaking allows the water to draw out the irritating gases from the onion pieces. The longer you soak, the more gases are removed.
Benefits
- Extracts tear-inducing compounds
- Works for diced, chopped, sliced onions
- Simple with just onion and water needed
Downsides
- Need to plan ahead to soak onions
- Can dull flavor and crispness of onions
- Not useful if needing larger onion slices
Trick 10: Use a Food Processor
A food processor chops or dices the onion inside an enclosed container, keeping vapors from escaping.
Here are some tips for using a food processor for onions:
- Peel and quarter onion pieces to fit feed tube
- Pulse to reach desired chop or slice thickness
- Keep lid secured and run machine continuously
- Process smaller batches for better results
The key is keeping the lid sealed so gases remain trapped inside while processing. Avoid overfilling the container so onions can move and be evenly sliced.
Benefits
- No onion vapors released
- Gives even, consistent slices
- Good for batch prepping onions
Downsides
- Need a food processor
- Can overprocess if not careful
- Still need to peel onions beforehand
Conclusion
Prepping onions may be tear-inducing, but these tricks can help you keep the vapors from irritating your eyes. Using proper chilling, rinsing, cutting methods, and barriers allows you to chop onions with minimal crying. Test out some of these techniques to find ones that work for you.
With practice, you’ll be able to master how to slice and dice onions quickly without sacrificing safety or quality. Your dishes will benefit from onions with maximum flavor and you’ll avoid the tears and stinging eyes.