Cut an onion so that it won't make your eyes water

Sorry if this is you. But, this is just a waste of an onion, imo. Simply light a candle or two around the cutting board, and you won't have to deal with watery eyes as much.

That is terrible technique, IMO. The trick is to keep each half of the onion whole right to the last moment when you disassemble it into chunks. Gordon Ramsay does it correctly in this video.

OR... just breathe deep breaths through your mouth when you're cutting onions. It's the gas getting in your nostrils and eyes that causes you to cry. Some people bite down on the handle of a spoon to prevent watering eyes, but that's just another way to make yourself breathe through your mouth.

That first step looks slow and dangerous, especially with that non-sharp crappy knife he is using. Besides, it's a chemical reaction, so I don't see how his steps would make a difference. The only tricks I know that actually work are: wear goggles, and cut the onion in between two lit candles.

Some other suggestions, taken from this site, are:

• Peel the onion and run it under water before you chop it.

• Use a sharp knife (sharp knife cuts the onion cells cleanly and hence less juice is released from the Onion)

• Use salt or bread crump on the knife.

• Put the onions in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before cutting them

nothing works

/former chef

This guy is terrible! throws away half the onion, doesn't know how to slice an onion, he just pushes down on it to try and cut it. And god forbid you have more than one onion to chop. 1/10

I was so expecting this to be a joke.

I've notice that if you're wearing contacts while cutting an onion it doesn't make you cry. I'm gonna try the candle method.

Chewing gum, any flavor, is very effective.

Keeping onions in water is most effective.

If you put a small piece of onion in your mouth while chopping it, for whatever reason, your eyes won't water. Try It.

the enzymes from the onion binds to water. When the enzymes then hit your iris you start crying, because your eyes are trying to wash it out. That is why contact lens users tend to cry less or not at all, because the contact lens is covering iris. This also explains why lighting candles or chewing gum etc. will help. Really, the easiest thing to do is to simply, open your mouth so that the enzymes binds to the water in your mouth and not your eyes. Of course, nothing will prevent it 100%

TL;DR: open you mouth is the simplest way to avoid crying

I prefer this method

NOOOO! You just cut it near a small open flame (put one burner on the stove on low). All of the things that make you cry will just burn away.

I usually just use the don't-be-a-whiney-bitch method. Works fast and doesn't waste as much onion.

[deleted]