Onions make me cry

Help, every time I try to cut onions I ''cry'' and my eyes burn-bad! I love cooking with onions so of course I need some kind of way around the tears!! Lol!!
Any tips?

Thanks

well personolly I want to become a chef so I hope this will fix it

Use a sharp knife.
This is more common sense than a cure. A dull knife will crush the onion cells more than a cleanly slicing sharp blade, and the crushed cells will release more of the deadly spray into the atmosphere. Some say that a stainless steel knife is best because it supposedly lessens the severity of the onion juice (and stainless steel rubbed on your hands afterward take the smell away) but this is uncertain. At any rate this method is no cure because even the sharpest knife slices plenty of cells up and releases the caustic gas.

Hold a wooden matchstick between your teeth -- match head out.
Maybe someone thought this up to see how much he could get someone else to act like a clown. The theory is that the match head attracts and absorbs all the bad chemicals. There is no magical matchstick magnetism that can significantly reduce the sulfuric aerosol; so all I can say is try it to prove it to yourself (it didn't work for me).

Hold a piece of bread in your mouth.
Some say to chew the bread also. But as with the match above, the bread cannot have any significant attractive force on the onion spray. When I tried this it seemed to delay the onset of tears (but not for long) so it may not be totally ineffective.

Breath only through your mouth.
This may be combined with the bread in the mouth too. I can see that if no air is flowing through the nose membranes it may reduce the irritation there, but it doesn't help the eyes, which are the main cause of pain.

Chew on a raw onion.
This method appears so ridiculous I can see no physical reason why one would want to put another source of onion spray even closer to his sensitive mucous membranes.

Don't chop the onion root -- or do it last.
The reasoning is that the root end of the onion has a higher concentration of these nasty chemicals. That may be so, but the difference is not very great since the non-root onion releases plenty of noxious fumes.

Keep the outer skin on the onion as long as possible.
This is an attempt to contain the onion in some part to reduce the surface exposed to the air. The reduction in onion mist is minimal at best since all that sliced onion flesh is exposed to the air.

Chop the onion under water, under running water, or pre-soak in water.
This 'under water' lore seems quite pervasive; I cannot imagine trying to hold and contain all the diced onion bits (which float away) under a sink filled with water. In theory if the onion was exposed only to water and not air the sulfoxide would be washed away by the water and never become airborne. A variant is to have running water nearby the chopping area in the hopes that it will obtain some of this aforementioned magical attractive power (this didn't work for me.) Another scheme is to soak the onion peeled (even cut in half or quarters) in water for some length of time to draw out the juices. While this may reduce the fumes some it only penetrates so far; once I started slicing into onion the spray was as bad as before.

Wear swim goggles or a diving mask.
This solution actually works because the particles in the air are prevented from touching your skin. The goggles will only protect your eyes, and with the mask you have to breath out of your mouth. It is cumbersome and uncomfortable, and it doesn't protect any one else in the room.

Use a fan to blow away or suck up the fumes.
If you can get a strong enough fan or cut your onions outside where there is a breeze, I can see this method as somewhat effective. If inside, wherever you blow the fumes (unless it's out a window) will be fumigated. Some say use the fan over the stove top, but it usually isn't strong enough; besides it draws the air up, where your head is likely to be. With a fan it is best to blow horizontally, away from the face.

Place onions in the freezer for 20 minutes before cutting.
When the onion juices are chilled they are less likely to become airborne. This strategy is the most well-known solution to the onion problem, but it simply does not work. Unless the onion is actually frozen, there will still be onion juice sprayed in the air (besides, unless you store them in the refrigerator you have to wait for the onion to chill before you can cut it.)

Put white vinegar on the chopping block to neutralize chemicals.
I tried this method, and it actually works. The stinging in the eyes was almost eliminated, but the smell was not very pleasant. The moist vinegar on the onion interferes with frying, and its flavor may taint some foods.

Burn a candle near the work area.
This rarely-known technique is based on the fact that the candle flame pulls air from around it and sends it up the smoke plume. Although surprisingly effective, a single candle usually cannot handle the large amount of aerosol generated by a lot of dicing or fine slicing. This last technique holds the secret to the final solution.

haha that happens to me sometimes to
and a lot of other people
heres 2 things that migght help
1. try chewing gum while choping them
2. while choping them breath through your mouth only
hope that helps

thanks!!
interesting ones I havent tried yet!!
hee hee!

your welcome! :]

Wear guggles! Lol, I tried it when I was helping mum in the kitchen, and breath from your mouth.

chewing gum is said to help

breathing through the mouth wont help much though

Put a unlit match in your mouth and hold it like you would a toothpick.

Light candles around the area where you are and you can even run the onion under hte water first

LMAO, never heard of these things but they are funny. I wouldn't do the match thing at all...LOL

Try this for real because it helps and I cook with onions all the time.

Rinse the onion in cold water for about 10sec. I cut my onion in the sank as well( while the water is running) I never smell the onion until it's time to cook with it.

Yeah, I heard that chewing gum while chopping onion stops you from crying.

Wear goggles! I seen it on Rachel Ray

I'm pretty sure that happens to everyone lol
Try wearing something over your eyes

I think this works

1. chew gum while cutingh them
2. im not sure this works but try cuting the onion under the tap or else soak the onion for about 10-15 seconds or so?

hope it helps!

hmm I've actually tried this method and it works, I heard somewhere (cooking channel maybe?) that if you run an onion under cold water for like a minute before cutting it reduces the irritation to the eyes. (make sure onion is cut open a bit first so water can be absorbed)

Nope.. it's a normal thing

hee hee!! thanks all! I've tried the water thing every time, and I still cry --- I've been wearing glasses since I was 8 years old --- im 22 now --- (sad story I know!! LOL!!)
so I think im just a softie!

will give all other tips a try next time though! hope at least ones a winner!!

I wear a pair of SWIM goggles (not safety goggles) to chop onions, and never a tear. And once when I couldn't find the goggles I used a clear plastic bag that JUST fit down over my eyes and nose (not mouth ). Definitely NOT a fashion statement, but it worked.

me to !

There are onion presses like garlic presses so one push down and the whole thing's done being cut.

wow,thanks fun advice for your time typing all that out!

well folks, I cut slices on the side of the onion (with all its skins on, etc.) and put it in a bowl of water and left it in the freezer. I did it right at the start of the prep. before cooking, so it would have enough time to do what ever it needed to in the freezer to give my damn eyes a break!!
the onion naturally was the last piece to cut up, and surprisingly this was the first time I managed to peel slice and dice and get it into the damn pan without a tear in sight!! speeding up the cutting process like there is no tomorrow really helped too!! LOLOL!!

thanks all for your advice, and as the say on ''Myth Busters'' (on the discovery channel) --- we have officially busted the myth of the tear-jerking onion!!!

thanks all