Put down the tissues, goggles, sunglasses and blowtorches because we’re uncovering the most effective way to cut onions without crying like you just finished watching Titanic. We’ve rounded up the most common onion cutting tips, tricks and myths and tested them out, so you don’t have to. Here they are:
Photo by Sarah Silbiger
1. Bread
For this trick you simply take a piece of bread, about the size of your middle and pointer fingers, and put it in your mouth so it hangs out while you cut. The bread is there to soak up the chemicals that make you cry.
Verdict: Keeping the bread in my mouth as I cut the onion proved to be pretty uncomfortable, but it was effective. I will say my mouth was watering much more than my eyes, all in all the drooling is definitely worth it.
2. Matches
I didn’t see this one mentioned much online, but apparently my Grandpa would always keep a match in his mouth while he cut onions and it worked like a charm, so I figured I’d try out this old family trick. The key is to have the red part facing out and bite down on the wooden piece.
Verdict: Not the best solution, but definitely not the worst. I wasn’t swimming in a pool of my own tears like I usually am the minute the knife hits the onion, but I did shed a few tears. If you have some matches lying around I’d say still try this one but use two matches to double their tear shielding powers.
3. Refrigerate
Yup, throw those pantry staples in the fridge! I suggest keeping them in their for at least an hour before you cut them, but if you’re crunched for time you can freeze them for about 15 minutes (no longer unless you want to end up with onion ice cubes…).
Verdict: This works pretty darn well, heck you can even keep your onions in the fridge if you’re really bad at planning ahead. If your eyes are super sensitive, why not combine this with one of the other two to create an invisible force field between you and your onions? You’ll be invincible.
Tip: If you don’t want to spend the next week trying to scrub the onion smell off your hands, wash them with soap, water and a cold metal spoon. Best. Trick. Ever.
Photo by Sarah Silbiger
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