Onions are important for our health. That’s why onions are grown and used in all around the world. There are nutrients in the onions. It means that onions are low in calories but they are high in vitamins and minerals. These are excellent resources for antioxidants. These antioxidants inhibit oxidation. The onions have cancer-fighting compounds. These onions are also helpful in controlling blood sugar. These are also the best resources to boost bone density. To use the onion, we have to cut it into small pieces. The people who are cutting the onion into small pieces know that the onion can make them cry. Its reason is that these onions have irritating chemicals that can make your eyes sting.
Why Do Onions Make You Cry?
Most of an onion consists of water. Onion has also vitamins and sugar compounds. There are also some compounds in the onions which contain Sulfur. Sulfur is the natural component of many smelly substances. Due to the Sulfur, onions repel the creatures who are eating them. Some other plants repel the creatures in different ways. Some plants have thorns and some plants have stinging leaves. These thorns and stinging leaves are made of some special cells. These special cells make the leaves hard to chew.
Now, we come to the main point. In the onions, there is a Sulfur compound which is known as propyl sulfoxide. When you cut an onion into pieces, this compound escapes into the air. When propyl sulfoxide reacts with water vapor in the air or moisture around your eyes, as a result of this reaction, it is converted into Sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid has a strong smell and it also creates irritation in your eyes. To overcome this irritation, you will have to wash it out from your eyes. That’s why tears come into our eyes to wash it out from the eyes. You may also like to read about the phenomenon behind the floating of dead bodies.
How to Avoid the Irritation of Onions?
No doubt, most of you are facing lots of problems due to the irritation of the onions. You can overcome this irritation by following some tricks. These Sulfuric compounds present in the root end of the onions. Therefore, when you are going to cut the onions into pieces, you should cut them off and throw away the root end of the onions. After that, you should remove the pointy end of the onion. Now, you can easily peel its skin and cut it into pieces with little or no tears. Secondly, you can also overcome the irritation of the onion by following another technique. Before cutting the onion, you should chill this onion at least 30 minutes. When you cut this onion into pieces, you will not feel irritation. Its reason is that Sulfur compounds don’t escape into the air in the cold form.
