Top onion chopping tip

A la Viz top tips, here's mine to completely stop you crying whilst chopping onions. I really suffer from this and if you don't mind looking a bit of a nob in the kitchen this works. Ready?

Ski goggles! Simple but works perfectly.

my ski goggles ventilate too well. Swimming goggles work much better. Less stupid-looking is having a fan blow across your workspace.

I used to use my Oakley onion protective wear regularly to cut onions. Works really well

Oops, I was rushing to see if there was any tip on how to chop it?

I chop onions almost daily and I always cry (ok, I am a girl...)
I never tought it is a problem! Just an eye wash, bio collyrium, what is wrong with it?

Shove a slice of bread in your mouth while chopping. Not the whole slice mind you, you have to leave enough flopping out to absorb the nasty onion fumes.

Please tell me you guys are all joking.

soak the onion in hot water before you chop, takes the sting away, without affecting the flavour of the onion.

Stick a desertspoon in your mouth. Upsidedown

Let someone else do it for you

Keep your mouth open, inhale through your mouth, exhale through your nose. Or use a blender/chopper gadget.

None of those silly wive's tales methods work. I tried them all in high school as an experiment. Most are pretty damned silly if you think about it. Someone want to explain the magical properties of a dessert spoon held in the mouth? And why these powers only work if the spoon is upside down? And what supersulfurmagnetic properties does white bread have?

Warm water will make the juices more likely to spray, and further. You've built up pressure in the cells.

There are two ways to cut an onion without crying: good eye protection or cutting the onion underwater. The latter is difficult, especially with the itsy-bitsy german sinks, but that's it. The knife slices through the onion, cells are split, the juice has a clear path to your eyes and the sulfur compounds in them are what burn.

Or HIBT?

woof.

Maybe that's where the swimming-goggles come in handy?

It hurts to much to suck it holding it the other way up for any length of time.
Its supposed to close the tear ducts.
I don't know or care if it is scientific or not, seemed to work for my nan.


Nah,
it's the naughty onion elves spitting invisible onion juice in your eyes. They are frightened of upside down spoons. My nan told me.

spoons, machoons, nonense. go fer goggles!!! do it, it's great, it works, you'll love it (and maybe me) for ever!!! anyway, my wife now lets me chop all the onions. photo to follow soon...

If your spouse or partner weeps only when chopping onions that would explain how much you love and take care of them - Unknown author.

This one really works for me:

Hold a Saltine cracker (salt side up) in your mouth, but chop quick because the part of the cracker in your mouth will start go soggy in a short time or switch out to a fresh cracker. Works for me. YOu may look silly, but at least you are not crying.

I remember hearing that the older the onion, the more it's likely to make you cry. Personally, for reasons I have yet to understand, I haven't been as inclined to tear while slicing onions since I started wearing contacts. ???

Another tip is to chop your onion under the hob extractor, as all the fumes go up the extractor and don't make you cry.

Of course, this depends on you remembering to chop your onion before you start any other cooking, as otherwise the hob would be hot and set fire to your chopping board... sudenly not sounding like such a great tip but it works for me!

I'm with da BadDoggie on this one; all a load of rubbish. Bits of bread in your mouth, cutting the onion near a burning flame (???), wear contact lenses, hold an unlit match in your mouth, I have heard loads, and they don't really work atall. Sometimes onions are stronger, sometimes weaker, so perhpas people have assumed that they have discovered some "secret" method, but really just had onions that would not have made you cry anyway.
Use a sharp knife, and do it as quick as possible is the best recommendation I can give.

this is the second best way. the first being use a food processor. good if your cutting up a shed load of um and you need them finely cut.

The contact lenses really work though -- less eyeball area for the fumes to get to. I don't usually go all the way and wear the swim goggles, but I really notice the difference between wearing contacts and glasses.

This is why in cooking schools and chef apprenticeships, they teach you to stick a toothpick in your mouth and roll it around a lot while cutting onions. It is not perfect, but it does help.