This Clever Freezer Hack Will Stop You From Crying From Chopped Onions
There are a handful of ingredients that you should try to keep a stock of in your kitchen at all times, and if you ask us, onions are one of them. As The Kitchn notes, onions are "the bedrock of cooking" that, along with one of our other favorite aromatics, garlic, provide a delicious base of flavor for a myriad of dishes, not to mention that they add some texture to your food as well (via Dish By Dish). They can be enjoyed raw on top of a salad or battered and fried, and, alongside some diced carrots and celery, create the classic mirepoix that The Forked Spoon says is "fundamental" for soups and stews.
As you can see, onions are clearly a crucial component of cooking, and yet, the alliums still have somewhat of a bad rep. Their pungent smell and lingering taste make them a polarizing food that, like olives, tuna fish, and blue cheese, you either love or hate, and then there's the fact that chopping them up has you shedding tears like you just finished another rewatch of "Marley & Me." Unfortunately, there aren't too many things you can do to avoid the dreaded onion breath that comes with eating them, but if keeping your eyes dry during meal prep is your ultimate goal, there is one simple hack that might be the perfect solution.
Prevent the tears from flowing by sticking your onions in the freezer before cutting them
Bon Appétit reports that the best way to store onions of any kind is to place them in a ventilated bowl in a cool and dry spot. This method definitely isn't wrong; however, taking your onion straight from its cozy spot on your kitchen counter to the cutting board is a sure-fire way to turn on the waterworks as you're cutting them, which could easily lead to a slip of the knife if you're not careful. In order to avoid crying a river while prepping your onions – and any potential accidents that could result from it – Buzzfeed tested 10 different onion cutting hacks and found that temporarily relocating your alliums to the freezer for 30 minutes prior to chopping them up was one of the most successful methods to prevent the tears from flowing as you're making your meal.
You see, onions contain amino acids called sulfoxides, and once cut, those sulfoxides turn into a chemical that penetrates the air and eventually hits your eyes, causing the tears to start falling (via Greatist). Placing your onions in the freezer slows this process down, allowing you to get through your onion chopping tear-free. HGTV also suggests leaving the sulfoxide-rich root end of your onion whole when cutting it up to further help the cause, because let's be honest, there are much better things to shed tears over besides chopping onions, like the opening scene of Disney Pixar's "Up."