14 Tips To Reduce Tears and Remove Smells When Cutting Onions

Chopping onions is pretty much a daily chore.  If it weren’t for the tears and the smells, it wouldn’t be so bad – what can we do?

Those tears and smells come from the sulfur compounds in the onion.  It’s most concentrated in the core of the onion that runs up from the root. Based on this fact, some people recommend removing the core before chopping or not cutting into it until the very end of your chopping.  Considering that those smelly compounds are part of what makes onions so good for us, I vote for leaving them in.  

To deal with the tears and smells here’s a list of 14 tips I’ve come across from a variety of sources.  

Have you tried of any of these?  Let us know other tips that you’ve tried or that would make us smile through our onion tears.

Smelly Hands and Cutting Boards

• Rub hands and cutting boards with a cut lemon or a mix of lemon and salt.  Just watch out for chapped skin or minor cuts – yikes!
• You could also mask the smell by rubbing your hands with something that’ll smell a whole lot better – try coffee beans.  Don’t try chocolate – just sayin’!
• Wear latex or latex-free gloves if doing a lot of cutting.
• My facebook friends have suggested rubbing with stainless steel bars or even a stainless steel knife (be careful!).

Onion Breath

• Chew on a sprig of parsley.  That’s why it’s such a popular garnish!
• Suck on a slice of lemon.
• Gargle with 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar mixed with a cup of water.

Reducing Tears

• Place onions in the fridge for 30 minutes before chopping or 10 minutes in the freezer if you’re in a rush. THIS IS WHAT I DO.
• Wear swim goggles or special no tears onion goggles (no kidding they’re $48 on Amazon).  I’m not that desperate.
• Cut onions under water.  If you want to add a slippery factor to onion chopping.
• Place a fan on your kitchen counter.  Sorry, but I don’t have space for a fan.
• Light a candle. I haven’t tried this, sounds interesting.
• Hold a piece of bread in between your lips.  Sure my eyes might not water, but I’m sure I’d end up drooling!
• Peel and halve all your onions, then chop fast without leaning your face over your cutting board. Yup, this works for me.
• Use a chopper or food processor and open the lid away from you (important step!). This works for me too.

My favorite way to reduce tears and smelly fingers and boards is to chop a bunch of onions at one time using the food processor and freezing them.  It’s a great time saver and prevents me having to worry about these teary, smelly dilemmas every night. Watch how to freeze onions below or click here.

If you find a tip that works for you, let me know!

Delicious Onion Recipes

Getty Stewart is a Professional Home Economist, speaker, frequent media guest and writer dedicated to putting good food on tables and agendas.  She is the author of several recipe books on enjoying and preserving fruit, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener. Sign up to get articles by Getty delivered to your inbox. You’ll get recipes, practical tips and great food information like this.