Why do onions make people cry

Onion is a very common vegetable in our daily life. The nutritional value of onion is also very high. It is very popular among people. Eating onion not only has health care functions, but also can prevent and treat many diseases. However, in general, when people cut onions, they generally have this symptom, which is irritation of the eyes and tears in the eyes. Many people are not clear about the reason for this. The following is a detailed introduction.

Why do onions make people cry?

The sulfur compounds in onions are responsible for their spicy taste and pungent odor. These sulfur-containing compounds originally exist safely in the cytoplasm of onion cells. When the onion is cut, the onion cells are destroyed. The sulfur-containing compounds in the cytoplasm encounter the enzymes present in the vacuole, and then a chemical reaction occurs to produce irritating sulfur-containing gases, which is the tear factor of the onion.

In fact, in addition to the side effect of "tear-inducing", the sulfur-containing compounds in onions can exert a variety of health-promoting effects, including antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet aggregation to prevent thrombosis, lowering blood sugar and blood lipids, and anti-cancer. The small price of "shedding tears" in exchange for so many beneficial effects is worth it!

Why does peeling an onion make you cry?

When you cut an onion, you rupture the onion cells, which release an enzyme that produces a special gas. When this gas comes into contact with the eyes, it reacts quickly with tears to produce a moderate concentration of sulfuric acid. This acid irritates the eyes, prompting the brain to send a signal to the tear glands in the eyes to order them to produce more fluid to flush out the sulfuric acid. The more onions you chop, the more irritating gases are produced, and therefore the more tears you will shed.

Putting onions in the refrigerator for a while before cutting them will minimize their irritation and reduce tearing. Low temperature slows down the release rate of the enzyme. This enzyme is mainly concentrated in the root of the onion, so cutting this part of the onion as late as possible can effectively slow down and reduce tears.

Freeze your onions for 15 minutes before chopping them. This can effectively reduce the amount of acidic enzymes released into the air without affecting the taste of onions. This method can be said to be the most scientific method, and it is the best way to solve the problem of crying when cutting onions.

Onion, known as the "Queen of Vegetables", is very nutritious. Due to the presence of special substances, onion has health benefits that cannot be replaced by other foods. Many people like to eat onions, but most people probably don’t want to cut them. Why? It must be because the fragrance emitted by onions will make everyone burst into tears and feel very uncomfortable.