This clip explains how to cut an onion without crying. No, then answer is not “Just don’t be a little bitch about it” as there happens to be a true reason for why we cry:
There are juices and chemicals inside the onion’s tissues; when your knife breaks the onion’s cells a certain compound becomes airborne as a fine mist. This compound is called propanethial-S-oxide, which is a type of sulfoxide. When the misty droplets encounter a wet surface (your eyes or nose membranes) it dissolves into a form of sulfuric acid, which is understandably irritating to your sensitive organs.
Wow, I wish I knew about this trick when after cutting an organic onion up on Mother’s Day. That thing was like getting pepper sprayed.
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/411116/cut_an_onion_without_crying.swf” width=”400″ height=”345″ wmode=”transparent” /]