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Why does cutting onions make people cry?
It's just vegetable chemistry at work.
Inside onions are a lot of unusual sulfur compounds stored inside little sacs. When people slice an onion, these sulfur compounds escape.
When the sulfur compounds mix with oxygen in the air, they form a strong-smelling chemical that makes your eyes water. Scientists call the chemical a lachrymator. (Say LAK-rih-MAT-er.) That's just another word for anything that makes you cry.
The onion lachrymator slows down when it's cold, so some people put onions in the fridge before slicing them. People might also cut onions under running water, which works because the sulfur compounds dissolve in water before they can mix with the oxygen.
Onions don't provide much in the way of nutrition. Cooks love onions for their flavor--which comes from the same sulfur compounds that bring on the tears.
Not all of the sulfur compounds escape when you cut onions, especially when the knife is really sharp. (But don't you try cutting onions without a grown-up's supervision!) The heat from cooking changes the sulfur compounds into a sweet tasting treat--and makes any tears well worth the effort!
Scientifically yours,
Twig
Date: 6/21/05
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