Gross Archive

Why Does Onion Make Us Cry?

Jul 15, 2019 By Kayode Oseh 4.5K

Onions is one of the few things in the kitchen we see as enemies. Chopping them is one of the major kitchen chores most of us are usually scared of, anyway we have every reason to be scared of those guys because they are the only thing that tends to fights us back, trying to defend themselves when seeing a knife. Lol !

However, what is actually the reason behind crying when chopping an onion? lets see the reason below;

Onion releases a chemical compound that irritates your eyes and triggers your tears glands.

They get their distinctive, pungent flavor from sulfur—the same chemical that smells in rotten eggs. However, sulfur is not majorly responsible for making you cry. 

Onions contain an enzyme called synthase. the synthase reacts with the sulfur to create a chemical compound called syn-Propanethial S-oxide. This compound is volatile and creates a gas that floats up to your eyes and triggers your lachrymal gland, which is the gland in your eyes that produces tears. This can make the pool of water in your eyes to start flowing.

Is there any way we can prevent this? Yes, there are ways you can hack this process, see them below;

* Store your onion in fridge because when an onion is cold, it doesn’t release that chemical compound that triggers tears.

* You can try facing a fan toward when chopping it. This will help blow the gas away.

* You can try wearing goggles.





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