While watching "Power of Ten" in GMA7. There was a question there that caught my attention. It was a survey about how many Filipinos believes that not breathing can help a person not to cry when slicing an onion.
I was thinking how could not breathing helps in avoiding tears when slicing an onion. I decided then to search why really onions make us cry. I find out that onion releases an enzymes or gas that reacts with the water in our eyes and produces sulfuric acid. It irritates our eyes causing the stinging sensation and the brain sends signal to produce tears to protect our eyes.
If you really want to avoid this or if there is a need for you to slice a lot of onion let say for preparing food for a certain occasion. What you can do is slice it under water. Most of the sulfuric compound will be dissolved by water. One other option is to peel the onion and refrigerate before slicing.
No comments:
Post a Comment