Chemistry Fun Fact - What Makes You Cry When You Cut Onions?

As a student of Chemistry, we want you to be of the believe that everything is Chemistry as clearly explained in our Previous lesson. You are also a Chemist!

Many important things in your life that you have been doing involve a lot of Chemistry. These may range from your lifestyle, your relationships, what you eat and most importantly how it is being cooked - Food Chemistry. Your interaction with anything may lead to one form of Chemistry or the other.

In today's Chemistry Fun Fact, we are going to share with you the Chemistry behind Onions and why it makes you cry (release tears) as you cut it - perhaps for cooking or something else. 

Onions have no hands - to beat you, no legs - to shoot you, and no mouth to bite you, but how on earth does it makes you cry, especially when you cut it?

Cutting onions burst its cells and the amino-acid sulfoxides present in the onion form sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) which in turn react with enzyme to produce propanethial S-oxide (C₃H6OS) - a volatile gas that wafts (enter) into your eyes as you cut the onions. The gas then react with a moisture in air or water in your eyes to form sulphuric acid which is itchy to the eyes and hence burns, thereby stimulating your eyes to release more tears to wash away the irritant. This will makes you cry as if you are crying for a true remorse! 

You may not be a student of Chemistry or a Chemist by profession but you are a Chemist in one way or the other. 

We are not food scientists or a dieticians, but here are some suggestions on how to cut onions without crying - tearing up. 

1. Before you start cutting your onions, get a chewing gum and start eating it. Continue to eat the chewing gum as you cut the onions - you will definitely preserve your tears. So simple, huh? Try it please and let me know your findings, does it work?

2. Refrigerate your onions for minimum of 15 - 20 minutes.  This will lower the rate of reaction(Temperature is a factor that affect rate of reactions) hence it will take time before the volatile gas is formed to enter into your eyes. Very simple? Yes! Give it a try and let me know your experience in the comment section below.

For more expert tips on how to cut onions without tearing up Click here

Don't forget to share with your friends and family, please. Thank you

NB: Not all onions will make you cry, but most of them surely will.