Alternative Therapies

Onions and garlic contain powerful phytochemicals that help your body in fighting diseases and promoting good health. But cutting onions looks like a huge task as it brings tears to the eyes, so much so that you may not be able to carry out the whole process.

Here are a few tips to prevent tears while cutting onions:

• Peel the onions and place them in a bowl of cold water for 20-30 minutes. This will get rid of the strong odor. You can now cut the onions.
• After peeling, place the onions in refrigerator/freezer for 20-30 minutes. To avoid the onion smell from spreading to other items in the fridge, cut the onions into two halves and keep them in an air tight box, so that the other items do not pick up the smell.
• Cut onions under cold running water. This is how professional chefs do.
• Burn a candle where you are cutting onions. The burning flame can draw the tear-causing odor towards the heat source.
• Before cutting onions, rub some lemon on the chopping board or put some white vinegar on it.
• Put a slice of bread in your mouth while cutting onions, this usually works.
• First cut the whole onion, leaving behind its root.
• If you use contact lenses, put them on before cutting onions. Sounds crazy, but this helps.
• Cut onions in a well-ventilated place and cut fast. But be careful because you may hurt yourself with the knife while cutting fast.
• You can also use a sharp chef’s knife that glides through the onions with ease, allowing less tear causing compounds to come out.
• Soak the onions in water before cutting. And place a toothpick between your front teeth and bite the toothpick while cutting.
• Use a knife to cut a cone out of the bottom of the onion, the place where roots grow.  This cone should be 1/3 deep and its diameter should be about a third of the diameter of the onion. Throw away this piece and chop off the top, peel, and slice the onion.

These tips do not ensure that there will be no more tears, but they will be far less than usual.