I’m a Doctor – How to Stop Crying When Chopping Onions Using This Paper ‘Magnet’ Trick

A call for help?

After a TikTok user complained that she cries “a lot” when chopping onions, an emergency medicine doctor shared a tissue-free cutting strategy that he swears is a cut above the rest.

“I’m going to teach you how to stop crying while cutting onions,” said Dr. Joe Whittington stated on TikTok this month.

The California-based paper informed its 2.1 million followers that dicing an onion releases sulfur compounds that react with enzymes inside the vegetable to form a gas that irritates your eyes, making them water.

The chemical culprit is propanethial oxide S – it’s a natural defense mechanism that onions use to protect themselves from being eaten by animals.

White, yellow, and red onions have higher concentrations of the enzyme needed to produce the volatile compound, while sweet onions, green onions, and scallions don’t have as much.

To prevent waterlogging, Whittington recommends placing a damp paper towel next to the onion to act as a “magnet” to absorb the propanetial S oxide as you chop it.

“The moisture attracts the sulfur compounds, helping to prevent irritation, so you’re less likely to shed tears while chopping,” Whittington explained.

This trick has been tested before – with mixed results.

@drjoe_md

Cutting onions releases sulfur compounds that form a gas that irritates your eyes and makes them water. Placing a damp paper towel near the onion absorbs some of these gas particles, reducing the amount that reaches your eyes. The moisture attracts the sulfur compounds, helping to prevent irritation, so you’re less likely to shed tears while chopping. #kitchenhacks #cookingtips #onions #doctor

♬ original sound – Dr. Joe, MD 🩺

“I carefully placed the paper towel under my onion and slowly shredded it to give the onion acid time to dry out my eyeball, or whatever it normally does,” a Kitchn writer wrote in 2021. Nothing it happened No tears, no running away from the kitchen. Nothing.”

Meanwhile, Mashed reports that moving the paper towel “even an inch away” from the onion can render the cloth useless.

Other no-cry suggestions include freezing the onion in advance, keeping the root intact, placing a fan next to the cutting board, using a super sharp knife while cutting quickly, and wearing safety glasses.

Or you can try Sunions, naturally bred “tearless” onions.