No more onion tears, or just a fluke?

[vitauta]

i needed to dice a large onion for a recipe this morning, and steeled myself for the weeping to come. my previous use of methods meant to alleviate onion tears hadn't worked for me, thus my resignation today. my onion, just two weeks from the market, had a black moldy looking section on one side, (another issue of mine) so i proceeded to peel back the layers to see what was still usable of the onion. it was mostly still good, and i washed it a bit more than usual, as the black stuff was smeary even though the onion itself was fine inside. accidentally, i had the hot water running as i was doing this, and scolded myself for now having to start working with a somewhat warmish onion - (one of my remembered onion tips was to chill it before using) long story short, i sliced and diced this onion with absolutely no discomfort! i might as well have been chopping an apple - i even made the dice extra small, and lingered over my task because it was such a pure pleasure to work and bond with an onion at long last! now, what to do with my prematurely spoiling onions? i'd rather not store them in the fridge unless i absolutely must....

 

[Andy M.]

Just a fluke. Onions do vary in potency. Maybe you just got lucky.

Chilling mnimizes but does not eliminate. Forget about lighting candles or standing on one leg and hopping up and down.

The sure fire way to keep your eyes from tearing is to keep the fumes out of your eyes. Simple and easy. Buy some swim goggles and wear them while chopping or have a small fan going while you chop. Place the fan on the counter and have it blow air across in front of you. Left to right or vice versa over the top of the onion.

 

[CWS4322]

Oh--swimwear goggles! My DH already thinks I have more than enough gadgets/tools for the kitchen....I gotta add the goggles!

 

[GB]

Another way to minimize, but no eliminate the fumes is to make sure your knife is very sharp. But to answer your question, yes it was a fluke like Andy said.

 

[Selkie]

I cut onions all of the time (about 3-4 times a week - I love Vidalias!!!), and maybe... maybe one in twenty will cause a little discomfort. As GB says, using a very sharp knife is one reason. Another is I don't stand "over" the cutting board, but stand straight up with the onion in front of me rather than me leaning over it. The fumes are further away and don't rise up into my face.

Oh, and the onions come straight from the counter top basket... never the fridge.

 

[buckytom]

Place the fan on the counter and have it blow air across in front of you. Left to right or vice versa over the top of the onion.

oh, now you tell me...

my shirt really smells like onion, but i did stay cool while crying as i diced it.



but seriously, i wonder if the lack of potency had anything to do with that it might have been an old onion (considering the black goo on it) even though it was only 2 weeks from the market.

 

[Andy M.]

oh, now you tell me...

my shirt really smells like onion, but i did stay cool while crying as i diced it.



but seriously, i wonder if the lack of potency had anything to do with that it might have been an old onion (considering the black goo on it) even though it was only 2 weeks from the market.

Older onions tend to be stronger in the tear -making department because moisture has evaporated concentrating the potency of the fumes.

 

[vitauta]

i'm back with an update about my fluke tearless onion chopping experience. actually, it was a bit daunting to face another onion - would i duplicate my previous easy chopping result, or would it be back to rivers of tears as usual? i decided to take a somewhat scientific approach: i cut my onion in half. the first half onion i ran under hot water while peeling a few of the outer layers off. the other onion half did not get the hot water treatment. i chopped the first half with no smarting or tears whatever. the second half was more pungent in aroma, and caused minor eye-smarting. the onion, both parts, had the sharp bite and potent flavor i expect from (raw) onions. what do i conclude from this second go-round? enjoy this bag of onions while they last, but continue with the hot water baths...just in case.

 

[GB]

You need to do at least one more test. Run one half under hot water and the other half under cold water. It might just be the water and not the temperature.

 

[Andy M.]

The hot water would wash off some of the onion's natural juices. That would delay stinging fumes for a bit. If you use a sharp knife and work quickly, that could be enough.

Congrats on your scientific experiment and discovery.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Swim goggles are good, and a snorkel will help even more, but leave the swim fins in the garage. You don't want to look silly.

I buy my onions already diced, in a two pound bag, made by a company that is literally right down the street and purchases their onions locally. I can even smell the onions when the wind is from the right direction. I repackage them by the ½ cup in sandwich bags, then stuff all the sandwich bags into a zip-lock freezer bag and freeze them. When I need diced onions, I just pull out one sandwich bag per onion.

 

[Dawgluver]

Swim goggles are good, and a snorkel will help even more, but leave the swim fins in the garage. You don't want to look silly.Quote]

 

[vitauta]

Swim goggles are good, and a snorkel will help even more, but leave the swim fins in the garage. You don't want to look silly.

I buy my onions already diced, in a two pound bag, made by a company that is literally right down the street and purchases their onions locally. I can even smell the onions when the wind is from the right direction. I repackage them by the ½ cup in sandwich bags, then stuff all the sandwich bags into a zip-lock freezer bag and freeze them. When I need diced onions, I just pull out one sandwich bag per onion.

having my onions pre-diced would be ideal in my world, even more welcome the perfume of the onions in the street air. i always love the smell of green onions in the spring air, after lawn mowings. living near baltimore, i remember fondly the smell emanating from a whiskey factory, not of booze, but of boiling potatoes. driving past there always made me hungry. also, the wonderful smells wafting from a mccormick spices plant located at one end of baltimore's inner harbor. oysters on the half-shell, ooh baltimore, the things i miss about you....

 

[velochic]

Just a fluke. Onions do vary in potency. Maybe you just got lucky.

Chilling mnimizes but does not eliminate. Forget about lighting candles or standing on one leg and hopping up and down.

The sure fire way to keep your eyes from tearing is to keep the fumes out of your eyes. Simple and easy. Buy some swim goggles and wear them while chopping or have a small fan going while you chop. Place the fan on the counter and have it blow air across in front of you. Left to right or vice versa over the top of the onion.

Both of these work for me. Or if it's a nice day outside (or even a cold, snowy day), opening the window in front of me works, as well. For just a single onion, I'm fast enough to zip through it before it can affect me, but for doing large batches (for example when I'm making Dorowat and it requires 3 - 4 cups of chopped onion), I go first for the goggles, then if my 9 yo has absconded them for actual swimming, I go for the fan.

My SIL (in Turkey, where onions are in EVERYTHING) swears by the rinsing method that the OP is talking about. I don't think it matters if it's hot or cold water. Any rinsing works. For me, I'm usually putting into hot oil and don't like the way the water makes them spatter... and I'm too lazy to properly dry them.

 

[Constance]

I have told y'all about this before, but I don't think anyone believes me. Lemon juice really does work! Rub it on the cutting board and the cut side of the onion before you start chopping. No more tears. Honest!

 

[The OutDoor Chef]

i needed to dice a large onion for a recipe this morning, and steeled myself for the weeping to come. my previous use of methods meant to alleviate onion tears hadn't worked for me, thus my resignation today. my onion, just two weeks from the market, had a black moldy looking section on one side, (another issue of mine) so i proceeded to peel back the layers to see what was still usable of the onion. it was mostly still good, and i washed it a bit more than usual, as the black stuff was smeary even though the onion itself was fine inside. accidentally, i had the hot water running as i was doing this, and scolded myself for now having to start working with a somewhat warmish onion - (one of my remembered onion tips was to chill it before using) long story short, i sliced and diced this onion with absolutely no discomfort! i might as well have been chopping an apple - i even made the dice extra small, and lingered over my task because it was such a pure pleasure to work and bond with an onion at long last! now, what to do with my prematurely spoiling onions? i'd rather not store them in the fridge unless i absolutely must....

When I was going to Culinary School, They taught you how to properly slice & dice onions where you will not have any tears.


YouTube - ‪How to Slice and Dice an Onion Like a Pro‬‏

One trick they taught me was the freezer trick.

Put the onions in the freezer for 30 minutes prior to use.

 

[vitauta]

When I was going to Culinary School, They taught you how to properly slice & dice onions where you will not have any tears.


YouTube - ‪How to Slice and Dice an Onion Like a Pro‬‏

One trick they taught me was the freezer trick.

Put the onions in the freezer for 30 minutes prior to use.

the video demonstrating onion cutting technique was informative, and it must have been effective as well since i didn't shed a tear watching it! p.s. i like your quote about life being too short - nice lighthearted way to put out that message....

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I rarely tear while slicing/dicing onion. I rinse, then cut a slit in the outer layer and peel it away. I then cut the ends off to make a flat side, place the onion with the grain running vertical. I then slice downward into whatever dice size I want. Then, lay the onion on its side and slice crosswise to make the dice or cubes. But to make this work without tears, you need to have a very sharp knive.

Onion tears because the sulfur complounds found in the onion juice (of which minute drops fill the air) combine with your tears and create sufluric acid, caustic stuff that your eyes and nose just doesn't like. If you crush onion cells with a dull knife, you release onion vapor into the air, and it gets into your eyes. Tghe result is tearing. Minimize the cell crushing (use a ver sharp knive and slice, don't chop), and use air currents to remove any errant vapors and you elliminate the tears.

Good luck with your future onion adventures.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Sprout]

I also find the putting the "tufty" end in the garbage immediately after removing it helps. The tear-producing stuff seems to be especially strong in that area, so I never leave it on the counter while I slice the rest.

 

[FrankZ]

I must be lucky as my trick is to just cut them up. I just don't get teary over onions.