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Medical Video: Cut onion without crying
Unless you are someone who is anti-kitchen, you may have tears in your eyes because of cutting onions. Have you ever wondered why we cry when we cut onions?
Crying when cutting onions is not from the smell of onions
Onions - red, white, bombed - enriched with vitamins C, B1 and B6, along with high doses of potassium, phosphorus and fiber. Even though not everyone likes onions, the spices included in this Allium plant species have the potential to fight bad cholesterol, reduce hypertension, and minimize blood clots.
On the other hand, essential oils that help give the onion its distinctive taste contain a group of organic molecules called amino sulfoxide. Peeling, cutting, or scraping onions releases the enzyme lachrymatory-factor synthase, which converts these molecules to sulfenic acid. Sulfenic acid, then spontaneously rearranges to form syn-propanethial-S-oxide. When syn-propanethial-S-oxide (a combination of sulfuric acid, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide) enters the air around your nose and face, this group of compounds evokes a tear crying reflex.
The front surface of the eye - the cornea - has several purposes, including protection against physical and chemical irritation. The cornea is filled with a variety of sensory fibers from the ciliary nerve, branches of the large trigeminal nerve (which carry touch, temperature), and pain sensations from the face and front of the head. The cornea also receives small amounts of autonomic motor fibers that activate the tear glands (tears). The nerve endings are free to detect syn-propanethial-S-oxide in the cornea and encourage activity in the ciliary nerve - which is interpreted as a heat sensation by the central nervous system - which is in accordance with the concentration of this compound. This neural activity reflexively activates autonomic fibers, then brings the signal back to the eye ordering the tear glands to rinse away the foreign irritants.
The reaction of the formation of syn-propanethial-S-oxide peaks around 30 seconds after mechanical damage to the onion and completes its chemical evolution for about 5 minutes.
This collection of active compounds also compresses itself to form an odorous thiosulfinate, coincidentally triggering the release of a sharp odor associated with cutting onions, giving rise to false accusations that the cause of our crying comes from smelling the unpleasant odor. In fact, thiosulfinate enzymes use completely different chemical pathways, do not affect the eyes.
Tips and tricks so that the eyes do not hurt when cutting onions
If you use a lot of onions while cooking, chances are that you have explored 1001 ways to avoid this annoying problem. And, the internet is currently filled with a variety of ways, ranging from the normal ones (wearing swimming goggles when cutting onions) to slightly strange ones (biting matchstick?). So which one is really effective?
1. Cut the onions in water
Looks a little dangerous, indeed. But, cutting onions under water will prevent sulfates from reaching your eyes and causing you to cry. If you want to try this method, use safety precautions - use a flat and wide recess container (such as a baking sheet) to provide maximum workspace or try to place your cutting board in the sink and cut onions under running cold water.
2. Freeze onions
Silencing the onion 15 minutes in the freezer will reduce the level of irritation as long as you cut the onion later, but this trick makes cutting more difficult (because it is frozen) and it will be difficult to peel off the layers of the onion's outer skin. Taste, it still doesn't hurt to try, right?
Or, you can heat the onion for a few seconds in the microwave before cutting it. The principle is the same, the hot temperature will inhibit the irritation process.
3. Apply lemon juice along the knife
Cut the lemon in half and apply lemon juice to the blade before you cut the onion. However, you will need to repeat the spread every few times onion pieces.
4. Cut the onion near the open vent
Or, why not cut onions accompanied by a breeze from the fan? In addition to fighting body sweat, the wind will blow sulfuric compounds away from your eyes.
5. Use an onion slicer
When there is no other effective way, why not use a special onion slicer that will keep you from contact with the onion vapor, the main culprit behind your tears?
One thing is certain, cooking onions turns off the work of the enzyme, so even though the smell of onions when cooked is still stinging, this will not irritate your eyes.
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