I always thought I was immune to onion tears... turns out, growing up, we always kept onions in the fridge, and cold onions DEFINITELY help! All the benefit of method 7 without needing a frozen iceball onion haha
Same thing but we mostly used less juicy onions most of the time, and when we got different kinds of onions I was more prone to cry, I still don’t cry too often but my eyes do get watery sometimes
please make sure you're putting onions in air tight containers in the fridge, onions absorb the surrounding atmosphere and can spoil when stored next to fresh meat or slightly rotting vegetables.
Matt and Santis chemistry was great! It honestly felt really natural compared to some of the other episodes, like yall are just buddies hanging out cutting onions. Keep doing stuff with santi!!
Santi always sorta came off as a sensitive emotionally conscious soul to me (not in a bad way, just the type that wants to make ppl happy and stuff) He's definitely gonna appreciate this comment I feel like :D
Oh no, I can say it’s very real. In fact, I am particularly sensitive to the onion gas. And by that I mean if onions are being cut in the kitchen, I could smell the gasses in the living room
I used to be fairly unfazed, then we got one particular batch from the store and one slice into it left me sobbing and snotting like I'd just watched the most heart wrenching movie ever. It felt like someone was dumping something caustic into my eyeballs with how badly they burned. This is in sharp contrast to my mother who pretty much always waters up to varying degrees cutting them so even those unfazed could potentially locate that one really nasty onion that causes it.
I love how there were two things happening, Matt trying TO cry and failing, and Santi trying NOT to cry, and failing. I've never seen anything more perfect 😂😂
Gotta be honest, i am surprised that while lots of "hacks" have been tried out here, nothing was done about changing the what was used to cut the onions. For me personally, a massive difference came once i actually started taking care of my knifes and kepts them razor sharp, while at my parents house with their knifes, its teary eyes all over again.
I was going to recommend this as I have been sharpening knives for about 3 years and every since I have been keeping my knives super sharp I have never had a problem with onions making me or anyone else in my house cry.
Not to mention that well-maintained and sharp knives are safer to use - they are less likely to slip and you don't have exert as much force to use them - and make all the prep work much faster. Stop looking for hacks people and get your knives sharpened!
I agree! Refrigerating definitely helps. Only thing is you have to cut it kinda fast to get 0 reaction, because once it gets up to room temperature the fumes come up again.
Fill either a big bowl or a (clean) sink with water, submerge the onion fully in said water and cut away. The oils won't be able to escape the water, therefore they won't affect your eyes, so you're safe to cut to your heart's content. The onion will stay fresh and maintain it's crunch (and you can freeze whatever you don't use too). I learned this years ago from a chef, and it's been remarkably helpful ever since.
as a chef the swimming goggles trick absolutely works but yeah you must make sure to create a perfect seal, in the same way that you need to create a perfect seal to prevent pool water from getting inside the goggles
I use swimming goggles myself when I cut onions at home and find them to work 100%. As you mentioned you have to make sure there is a perfect seal if anyone else is looking to use this method.
Ski goggles, the comically large ones with a closed-cell foam seal, work even better. First, it's easy to keep a good seal. Second, your field of view is better. Third, they protect more area around your eyes, so oil that gets on your hands or face is less likely to affect you once you remove them.
i used this a lot when i was working Prep and my GOD people judged me but it worked. Specially when you're rought chopping, dicing, and cutting rings bags at a time
As a person who gets the waterworks to the point of being unable to see when in the same room as someone who is cutting onions (like, it physically hurts. A LOT. There is a reason I only ever use onions pre-chopped and pre-roasted or frozen...), I sympathise with Santi 105%. But really it's just nice whenever we can see a glimpse of the crew so Santi: thank you for suffering for the content. Allow me to wish you a lovely and colourful autumn and thank you for your hard work.
This me, and I work in a kitchen, it literally feels like my eyes are burning when we have to cut onions I literally can't even open them in that room once they finish a sack.
Dunno if this works for yall, but whenever I need to prep onions, I submerge the onions underwater, in a basin or a sink, to get the peel off. Then I proceed cutting the thing real quickly for whatever I need. I never tried actually cutting onions underwater, but that might work too? (if you don't mind watery onions)
New food theory idea : can a life sized gingerbread house actually function as a sturdy, real house, and if not what type of baked good can we use that can work better than gingerbread
If you want to not cry while cooking onions I got you, an old chef I worked with told me this. Skin it and cut it in half, then soak it for a while in cold water and then you're good to go. Use in cooking or use it raw, because it still has its crunch and flavor.
Part 2 should definitely include a nose plug test, and you should try washing the onion before cutting as it takes out some of the harsh flavor of an onion
Seriously. That's what I do. I stick the onion under running water with every big cut I make. It saves me until I have to chop it fine, at which point I hold my breath as long as I can and then just suffer through the rest of it.
Former Subway worker here. We would peel and chop onions in half before putting them through a slicer. It creates a lot of tears normally. The method that I use has completely prevented tears and stinging since I started. Running the onions under cold water after their chopped and before they’re sliced works super well. Additionally, always breathe through your mouth. Nose breathing makes it worse and probably draws gases toward the eyes. The last tip is to never blink, therefore stopping the chemicals from staying.
Advice from a restaurant chef of 8 years who cuts and hand-breads several hundreds of onion rings every day: if you can cut your onions under running water it'll keep the gases from getting to your eyes and keep the onion juices from building up on the cutting board which also release the gases. Goggles and nose-plugs can help a little but the gases can still get into your sinuses through your mouth as you breathe. Also, some people are just more sensitive to it than others.
@barethor5869 I'm trying to imagine a situation where you have a sink that is wide enough and shallow enough where you can cut vegetables in it, a portable cutting board shaped well enough to fit in that sink without tilting in any way, and still far enough below the faucet where you would feel comfortable slicing an onion. Outside of in a professional restaurant with industry sinks, I just can't see it.
My theory is that the contact lenses themselves, and not desensitization to the nerves, is what gave MatPat his immunity. This is based on my own experiences with wearing contact lenses, in which I never cry while wearing them when chopping onions, but if I'm not wearing them I always cry
I'm in a culinary class as a school program and it's licensed as a restaurant. Our onions are stored in the walk-in fridge and that has the same effect as freezing while they stay easy to cut and preserves the flavor
One thing to bear in mind is the nasocrimal duct (tear duct) connects the nasal passage and sinuses to the eyes, so goggles alone won't completely do the job. The gas from the onions can still get to your eyes when you breathe it in.
@@tominieminen66 - Sensitivity is certainly a factor, as we saw in the video. A pair of swim goggle alone won't stop the fumes reaching the eyes, though. It might be enough to stop from crying if you have low sensitivity, but fumes still have access.
The editor missed an opportunity to use Onion from Cooking Companions being stabbed. That is about the only Onion I would come close to forming an attachment to.
I actually tried the fan thing, but I also had about twice the size of the fan as you guys did and you have to get it at the right angle and it really did work
My wife has designated me the onion cutter in our house. This episode helped us realize why I am seemingly immune to the effects others feel! When I was growing up, to weird people out I would open my eyes wide and touch it with my bare fingertip. Apparently I just killed the nerve endings! Thank you Food Theory!
See, I remember being taught in an Italian cooking class that if you're dicing onions, you cut almost all the way through the onion from the base to the top, leaving the base connected. Then you cut perpendicular to the initial slices, dicing them all at once. This works because it prevents most of the onion irritants from getting into the air. At least until they're diced and you're ready to use them.
I mean my mum taught me to cut the onion in half and soak them in a bowl of water for a while, afterwards you won't cry when you cut it and it still tastes great, works every time and I have no idea why.
I recently started doing this because I wanted to wash my onions before I cooked them and ever since I've always out my onions in a bowl of water before cutting them
I think dry eyes also gave Mat an advantage. The irritants of the onion start affecting you when they dissolve in your tears. Mat's eyes are mutch less sensitive because of the constant prodding of contact lens use so they generate less tears that would be the body's response to the nerves being stimulated in there. Less tears means less gas can be dissolved witch adds to his already existing resilience to stimulus of the nerves in his eyes.
Honestly the most effective way to prevent tears for me has been wearing my old chem lab goggles (which I need to buy new ones). People always question why I have them, but they've worked for me. The second best was chopping fast and putting the onions in water as fast as possible so there's just less gas in the air.
I run a fan blowing across my face, so all the onion juice mist that comes out goes elsewhere. Has worked no problem for the 5 years i've worked in food prep.
Working in commercial kitchens for about 12 years I found that mouth breathing and refrigerator / ice water bath temps were the 2 most effective and practical ways (also does destroy the cell walls like freezing). If you have a hard time mouth breathing sticking something in your mouth like bread or a raw carrot like a cigar, is what we did, helps you to focus mouth breathing. I have a feeling it has a lot to do with the nose and smell. If I can smell it, I'm crying. If I can't smell it, no tears here.
What I always do is peel the onion, cut it in half and then immediately run it through tap water, then cut it into pieces. I'm not sure if this just washes the acid juices away or contributes to getting the onion colder, but it has always worked for me.
Personally, I think part of the reason MatPat wasn't suffering was because he has implanted contacts as I find wearing my contacts has given me immunity to the pounds of onions I slice at work but when I wear my glasses then I get affected
I think there's another factor to the microwave attempt that you didn't consider. The heat could easily have broken a bunch of the onion's cell walls before you even started cutting, causing a larger and more uniform release of gas. The frozen version also would lyse the cell walls, but they also freeze the water in the cells, which would prevent most of the reactions from taking place (and honestly, would additionally prevent a lot of the enzymes from even making their way to their targets in the first place).
If you don't want to freeze the onion, the fridge is a great option, too. Also, as Santi brought up at the beginning, try cutting the onion with the root still attached. If you're dicing, cut towards the root first then cut horizontal to the root. It reduces how much time the onions have to impact your eyes, and also keeps the process simple. Unrelated, try using the ridges in the onion as guides for the first cuts, aiming for the onion's center. It helps keep your diced onion evenly sized
Hello Matpat!! Thank you and your theorist team so much for all these wonderful and informative videos! Recently I got my parents hooked on your food theory and style theory channels, and we’ve been rewatching your older videos during dinner time together, and recently your video about PRIME and Gatorade has helped us in the real world! My grandfather was in the hospital and I’m not sure what they gave him but whatever it was sheds potassium, and they didn’t give him any potassium supplements to make up for it, so my parents went to the store and bought him some prime instead of having him eat like 3 times the amount of bananas and he’s doing better now, thanks!!
The one that always works for me, is to cut the onions next to a open flame. I was under the impression this was a very common hack, surprised you didn’t cover it. I hadn’t heard of any of the others you tried.
This is the correct answer! I used to work at Papa Johns, and I would fill a foodsafe tub with a few inches of water, drop the cutting board in, and cut them underwater. My manager was REALLY susceptible to onions and started doing it that way himself, and he swore by it after that. It completely eliminates the problem.
Considering their doing this in mats own kitchen all can I imagine is late in the evening Steph is like in the kitchen either grabbing herself dinner or desert and just seeing an onion in the freezer like "yup.....this is normal."
You see, this is why I love any of MattPat's/ Any Theorist content. Such a simple concept but it's so enjoyable with how they produce it. Keep it coming guys!
100 percent with that. Sometimes I just dunk a freshly cut half onion in a bowl of water or under the facet. Doesn't even have to be iced. I'd like to add that if youre already affected by the onions bringing your eyes close to a source of water (running faucet or even a cup of water) helps relieve the tears faster.
As someone who has worked food service for more than a decade and cut thousands of onions, I loved this episode! Cold for the onion is spot on, I am super sensitive to onion and have been putting them in the fridge (not freezer) for 20-30min before prep for years. If you really don't want to cry, do NOT cut the root, those chemicals are more concentrated there. Now, if you really want to make MatPat cry, I can speak from experience here. Cut them on an electric slicer, one of those big boys you see at deli counters, in a space with poor ventilation. I was crying for nearly an hour after, every time. 😂
There's also the ice water bath method to chill them more quickly if needed. Personally, I store my onions in the fridge by default, and I cut off the bottom decently short of the root as the first cut and throw the root out immediately. If you work fast while it's still cold, and make clean cuts to slice, dice or mince to do minimal damage, it's generally not too bad (depending on the type of onion). The haphazard messy chop job they were doing during some parts is exactly what you don't want to do.
If you do a part 2, you should consider placing the onions in water. My grandma used place them (peeled) in water for a few minutes before chopping them. I am bored and don't do it, but when an onion really gets to me i put it under running water for a little bit and its fumes cool down. It kinda works and does not affect the tecture, its just like washing any other fresh produce!
When I was in middle school, my friend and I started chopping onions to try to get ourselves to cry and we just couldn’t. We even held a quarter of an onion under our noses, but we just couldn’t cry. Our faces were turning red but there were no tears. My other friend was laughing at us so much
The contact thing is super interesting! My sister and mother never wear contacts, for my mom it’s literally just painful for her, but both of them don’t react that much to onions, I can wear contacts and really don’t mind poking my eyes getting them in and out but onions drive me insane. Then there’s my dad who’s a veteran who got his eyes damaged in a combat tour and has been wearing contacts daily ever since. He does not react to onions like at all. Duh.
I’m surprised you didn’t try Vaseline. It is basically my go to for anything volatile. Just put a little bit under your nose and it will “catch” most of the volatile compounds. Also ideal if you have to deal with a very stinky job (most EMS and emergency room personnel know this trick)
Matt you definitely need to try the goggles again, but one that includes a nose piece. A Quarter of an onion will make me cry waterfalls. And when I cut a bag of onions for French onion soup, im perfectly fine.
I hope I’m not the only one who thinks this was one of the funniest videos yet. While Matpat was trying to get any reaction, Santi was trying so hard to get his eyes to stop reacting and he definitely gave matpat a few “how insane are you” looks
One of the things that work for me is to not only keep the knives razor sharp, which makes the onions release way less juices (it's also generally safer than having dull knifes), but to also breathe through my mouth. It doesn't prevent the reaction, but definately delays it. Dunking the onion in water helps as well, as the juices dissolve in the big bowl of water rathen than evaporate into your eyes
My parents put the onion in the refrigerator instead of the freezer. Could you do a follow up episode to see if refrigerator is as effective or less effective than freezer and whether or not it has the same downsides as the frozen one for cooking?
I was taught to avoid cutting the root for as long as possible to reduce the amount of gas, but I’m not sure how this holds up. Would love to see a test!
I bet its because its reducing the amount being cut at once, so if paired with another test that "somewhat" works, itd turn into a better result. Probably still not as good as fridging the onions, but at least comparable
Best way to not cry when cutting onions. Do not give it a name. You'll just end up getting attached and when you reach the inevitable, it's just going to make the whole thing much harder. I miss you Steve, Lucas, Mark and Steve 2. You were delicious. :(
One that works great for me is doing it next to running water. The water flowing (as a sink) moves air pulling it to the water and helps. Another option that i dont like as much is to let the onions soak so that the chemicals flow into the water
I haven't tried cutting them in the water, but I have tried cutting top and bottom off and then slicing in half and swishing in water. And that method works great for me!
A weird thing that works for me is wearing my contact lenses instead of my glasses. I have no idea why that works, especially considering that the nose should still be a factor, but maybe I'm just not that sensitive to cutting onions in general. However, I cry a lot more when I'm wearing my glasses. For Santi, maybe try this with some nose plugs.
The goggle trick should work. My parents always had a pair of goggles in the kitchen and especially when we would prepare certain dishes in bulk it did wonders. Maybe you should try one of those that cover the nose as well (like for snorkeling), in my expirience those work even better. Probably by also protecting the nose and the reaction happening with the saliva in your mouth instead of the eyes
I wonder if the swim mask that also covers the nose would improve it? Then you'd not get the gas anywhere near your eyes or in your sinuses through your nose? Do your parents use the kind like the video?
If they think the google didn't have a perfect seal and the gas got inside, then they were just wearing it wrong. The google is supposed to block the water from getting into the eyes under water!
absolutely agreed on the last part, I am immune to onion practically when I wear my contacts (except if it's reallllllll strong onion then I do feel it too whilst everyone else bawling) also something I struggled with for a while was how to efficiently remove the chemicals from your hands afterwards, so mom bought for me this steel soap thing... and it works, weirdly enough. Would love to see the science behind that!
Seconding the stainless steel thing. The chemical reaction makes the onion molecules stick to the steel, which is the opposite of when you try to remove the onion smell from your hands with soap, which actually produces the reaction that makes sulfuric acid and makes it worse. Steel soap works!
My Grandpa was a Head chef at a Michelin star restaurant. His professional secret he taught me was to always cut both ends off of the onion first. It releases all the pressure inside of the onion at once. That way it doesn't leak gas every time you cut in. Doing your first cut down the middle also helps with crying.
Wow, that's so cool! My middle school chemical teacher talked about how you cry because of the gas, so I was like "ah, I'm going to cut it at arms length so the gas don't hit my face" and never had problems with onions, but I cut them exactly like that (just cause that's how my mom taught to chop them and I did in automatic pilot or something), so maybe the distance wasn't the thing that made the hack work 😅
I'm really sensitive to onion fumes and my fiance LOVES onions so what we do that works for us is swim goggles BUT we use the extra large ones that have the nose bit, as opposed to the smaller ones that just cover the eyes. They seem to have a better seal too. c:
Hi. My grandparents used to let the onions in a barn with no heating through the winter and so growing up I learned that leaving to onions outside to freeze this is the way to go. I can assure you, it works everytime. Great video!
I used to cut onions in a plastic bag (which I washed and re-used afterwards, to avoid plastic waste).But I stopped doing that since well...Wasting water wasn't any better. It DID work like a charm though, absolutely no tears. ALSO: I love that I turned on the closed captions by accident. Yosi, if you read this, your efforts did not go unnoticed, you made me giggle.
I actually discovered the frozen trick by accident after cutting a leftover onion that had been in the fridge for a day. I’ve been sticking my onions in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before cutting them ever since.
Huh, interesting that I, merely a fairweather viewer of the Theorist RUclips channels, seemed to know that Matthew Patrick's middle name is "Robert" before one of his own associates did... (To be sure, I originally watched this video only a few weeks after it became viewable on RUclips and was aware of MatPat's middle name then, as well. I just wasn't able to comment at that moment.)
I never had an issue with onions after I: A) Learned how to properly sharpen/hone my knives B) Developed the confidence to work quickly without cutting myself Minimal exposure time means no more tears, even for a fine dice. EDIT: Your theory at the end regarding your eye surgery reminds me of how I seem to have a much higher tolerance for mouth pain after wearing braces for 8 years as a child. I wonder if I just have nerve damage now..
I wouldn't worry, you don't have nerve damage. You just have built your tolerance and you were a child when you had them. Children have a lower threshold for pain and everyone's definition for pain is different. Experiences shape what we each define as painful, even when we compare those experiences against our own.
The only time I’ve teared up from cutting red onions is when I’ve raised the onion close to my face to smell it, and it made my eyes sting. But just cutting it? No issue at all lol. It’s so interesting how different people react so differently. I do wonder though, WOULD a nose plug work for this? Would it make a difference at all? EDIT: I keep my onions refrigerated! Which seems like a lot of people in the comments are recommending (rather than freezing them), so maybe that helps! :D
Haven't watched the episode yet, but my favorite method is keeping my onions in the fridge. Works every time. Seems that cold onions don't release nearly as much eye irritant. I also cut onions near my stove, and I have the hood fan on high while cutting. Edit: Finished watching the video. I think I'll stick with the fridge instead of the freezer. . . or the eye surgery ha ha.
Also just stand next to the hood. Works great for me and you don't need to prepare any special way xD The differnce in a lot of peoples senetivity actually comes down to the stability of the tearfilm on there eyes. So if you are really senestiv you probably have dry eyes ^^
dude, amazing personalities, interesting subject, quality editing: the theory channels really deliver top tier content for everyone, and they always seem to be happy to deliver
I was always told to run the cut under running water to reduce crying. That said, the types of onions you choose to cut can also have a massive impact- there's a varietal of onion, Vidalia or sweet, that has been bred to possess markedly less of that chemical.
i absolutely love sweet onions and for this reason! they aren’t strong to just eat straight up either which is great since i can’t get enough of onions
Gamming glasses like the ones from Gunnar are really good at blocking out the fumes, because there frames are shaped in a way to hold moisture under the lenses so your eyes dont strain as much. Which also seems to block out fumes farely good.
Worked in a restaurant for years and had to chop a LOT of onions. We always put the onions in the freezer before chopping to prevent the eye irritation. Works perfectly.
17:05 Freezing is a physical process, not a chemical process so it does not change the component molecules in the foodstuff. This is why frozen vegetables have practically the same nutritional value as if they were eaten at harvest while vegetables that are harvested and then chemically preserved to be eaten 'fresh' out of season have a different nutritional value.
The difference between Mats desperate quest to cry, VS Santi's equally as desperate quest to not cry, is so hilarious to me.
Your spelling is like an onion to me. 😁
@@ElDesvanDeDan Thank you it's a unique talent.
@@ChuncheeCat ive decided this comment is how im going to respond to criticism from now on. Very tumblr.
Matpat inspires me.. My parents said if i get 50K followers They'd buy me a professional camera for recording..begging u guys , literally
Begging...
@@namantherockstarAnother thing your dad said is I "need to get milk"
I always thought I was immune to onion tears... turns out, growing up, we always kept onions in the fridge, and cold onions DEFINITELY help! All the benefit of method 7 without needing a frozen iceball onion haha
Same thing but we mostly used less juicy onions most of the time, and when we got different kinds of onions I was more prone to cry, I still don’t cry too often but my eyes do get watery sometimes
please make sure you're putting onions in air tight containers in the fridge, onions absorb the surrounding atmosphere and can spoil when stored next to fresh meat or slightly rotting vegetables.
At work we tend to pre-soak in an ice water bath for a bit which helps too. Gets the temp lowered, but does require a bit of thinking ahead.
Turns out chemical reactions occur slower when cold
Matt and Santis chemistry was great! It honestly felt really natural compared to some of the other episodes, like yall are just buddies hanging out cutting onions. Keep doing stuff with santi!!
Santi always sorta came off as a sensitive emotionally conscious soul to me (not in a bad way, just the type that wants to make ppl happy and stuff)
He's definitely gonna appreciate this comment I feel like :D
I really hope Santi invites Matpat over to Food Theory again sometime.
@@Meshamuik ur joking but i dont quite get why, matpat does voice over for every food theory video, right?
@@yyby_ I'd clarify but, as they say, "don't explain the joke". Thank you for your comment, though!
@@Meshamusomehow you guessed it ahead of time
As someone who shares Matt’s immunity to onion tears I genuinely thought it was a myth that onions made you cry
Oh no, I can say it’s very real. In fact, I am particularly sensitive to the onion gas.
And by that I mean if onions are being cut in the kitchen, I could smell the gasses in the living room
I used to be fairly unfazed, then we got one particular batch from the store and one slice into it left me sobbing and snotting like I'd just watched the most heart wrenching movie ever. It felt like someone was dumping something caustic into my eyeballs with how badly they burned. This is in sharp contrast to my mother who pretty much always waters up to varying degrees cutting them so even those unfazed could potentially locate that one really nasty onion that causes it.
I also share a Onion Sensitivity Immunity.
I grew into a sensitivity for 'em
Same immunity here. I should try the goggle method to trap em
I love how there were two things happening, Matt trying TO cry and failing, and Santi trying NOT to cry, and failing. I've never seen anything more perfect 😂😂
Gotta be honest, i am surprised that while lots of "hacks" have been tried out here, nothing was done about changing the what was used to cut the onions. For me personally, a massive difference came once i actually started taking care of my knifes and kepts them razor sharp, while at my parents house with their knifes, its teary eyes all over again.
I keep telling my mother that if she does not want to cry every time she cuts Onions that she needs to sharpen it but my advice gets ignored lol
well if it is sharp it vil break less of the pockets so less of the enzyme gets let out
Yep, this is the real key.
I was going to recommend this as I have been sharpening knives for about 3 years and every since I have been keeping my knives super sharp I have never had a problem with onions making me or anyone else in my house cry.
Not to mention that well-maintained and sharp knives are safer to use - they are less likely to slip and you don't have exert as much force to use them - and make all the prep work much faster. Stop looking for hacks people and get your knives sharpened!
I’ve found that refrigerating the onion helps to reduce tears while keeping the onion fresh tasting and easy to cut. It’s like freezing, but better.
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Boosting! A bot copied your comment and got way up at the top 🫠
I agree! Refrigerating definitely helps. Only thing is you have to cut it kinda fast to get 0 reaction, because once it gets up to room temperature the fumes come up again.
@@perfectblueeeee Weirdly enough, it's clearly a copied comment, but not a bot since it doesn't match word for word.
Came to add this comment as well. I cry easily w onions but refrigerated ones don’t make me cry.
Matpat saying that he's immune because "either I'm 1. awesome or 2. Dead inside" caught me off guard and was way funnier than I thought 😂
i thought it was cause of the eye surgery
Fill either a big bowl or a (clean) sink with water, submerge the onion fully in said water and cut away.
The oils won't be able to escape the water, therefore they won't affect your eyes, so you're safe to cut to your heart's content.
The onion will stay fresh and maintain it's crunch (and you can freeze whatever you don't use too).
I learned this years ago from a chef, and it's been remarkably helpful ever since.
That's exactly what I do as well. I was surprised to not see them try this in the video.
An alternative to this, is to simply sprinkle some water over the onion as you cut it.
Yup, water really is the best way
From Germany here, I usually wash them with hot water, it seemed to work for me at least
Water on the knive also does wonders for this as I have found, just a quick rince and you're set.
as a chef the swimming goggles trick absolutely works but yeah you must make sure to create a perfect seal, in the same way that you need to create a perfect seal to prevent pool water from getting inside the goggles
I use swimming goggles myself when I cut onions at home and find them to work 100%. As you mentioned you have to make sure there is a perfect seal if anyone else is looking to use this method.
I use the chemistry goggles with the closeable vents while cooking. Mostly out of fear of splashing oil while frying but also onions
Ski goggles, the comically large ones with a closed-cell foam seal, work even better. First, it's easy to keep a good seal. Second, your field of view is better. Third, they protect more area around your eyes, so oil that gets on your hands or face is less likely to affect you once you remove them.
@@yellingintothewind yeah I can see how they might work even better, maybe I'll try getting some
i used this a lot when i was working Prep and my GOD people judged me but it worked. Specially when you're rought chopping, dicing, and cutting rings bags at a time
As a person who gets the waterworks to the point of being unable to see when in the same room as someone who is cutting onions (like, it physically hurts. A LOT. There is a reason I only ever use onions pre-chopped and pre-roasted or frozen...), I sympathise with Santi 105%. But really it's just nice whenever we can see a glimpse of the crew so Santi: thank you for suffering for the content. Allow me to wish you a lovely and colourful autumn and thank you for your hard work.
This me, and I work in a kitchen, it literally feels like my eyes are burning when we have to cut onions I literally can't even open them in that room once they finish a sack.
Dunno if this works for yall, but whenever I need to prep onions, I submerge the onions underwater, in a basin or a sink, to get the peel off. Then I proceed cutting the thing real quickly for whatever I need. I never tried actually cutting onions underwater, but that might work too? (if you don't mind watery onions)
This is the reason why I only use onion powder (don't know if that is the English word for it)
@@nekoboygames7786it is a thing so I assume it’s right my internet friend XD
Breathing only through my mouth helps for me. The moment I breathe through my nose I become a mess and can't even keep my eyes open.
I would watch an hour long video just of Matt and Santi making dinner together once a week.
Matpat and Jimmy O Yang…
real
6:09 Huge props to Yosi for the hard work he did for the Closed Captions at the bread segment. Honestly incredible.
Who is yosi
New food theory idea : can a life sized gingerbread house actually function as a sturdy, real house, and if not what type of baked good can we use that can work better than gingerbread
Now THIS I wanna see
Fruit cake. They are basically bricks. And the taste will prevent creatures from eating it
UNDERRATED
@@-karma-2426love your pfp
@@Norah_The_Silly tyyyy yours is cool too
My grandma taught me to freeze the onions for half an hour before chopping them and I never understood how it worked but now I do 👍🏽
Praise GMA!!!! She saved u!
This ^
I’ve just always kept onions in the fridge and never had any problems with crying.
That make since because if u put under cold water works when u freeze it it cold n wet so yeah
Someone should put your grandma in a box floating down the river
If you want to not cry while cooking onions I got you, an old chef I worked with told me this. Skin it and cut it in half, then soak it for a while in cold water and then you're good to go. Use in cooking or use it raw, because it still has its crunch and flavor.
Part 2 should definitely include a nose plug test, and you should try washing the onion before cutting as it takes out some of the harsh flavor of an onion
THAT'S WHAT I WAS SAYINGGGG!!
But what if you want the stronger flavors of the onion?
Seriously. That's what I do. I stick the onion under running water with every big cut I make. It saves me until I have to chop it fine, at which point I hold my breath as long as I can and then just suffer through the rest of it.
Washing the onion does nothing. I washed my onion before cutting and it was still horrible.
Former Subway worker here. We would peel and chop onions in half before putting them through a slicer. It creates a lot of tears normally. The method that I use has completely prevented tears and stinging since I started. Running the onions under cold water after their chopped and before they’re sliced works super well. Additionally, always breathe through your mouth. Nose breathing makes it worse and probably draws gases toward the eyes. The last tip is to never blink, therefore stopping the chemicals from staying.
bose breathing lol
@@kingnoob8667 oops
Same. Glad I'm not the only one that does this.
Or halving them and leaving them in a glass of water for a minute or two.
Exactly what I do at home 🤣 run them in water is effective
Advice from a restaurant chef of 8 years who cuts and hand-breads several hundreds of onion rings every day: if you can cut your onions under running water it'll keep the gases from getting to your eyes and keep the onion juices from building up on the cutting board which also release the gases. Goggles and nose-plugs can help a little but the gases can still get into your sinuses through your mouth as you breathe. Also, some people are just more sensitive to it than others.
Dietary cook here, I soak mine first. Seems to help me, since I'm normally really sensitive.
When would you cut your onion under running water
@@themagicknightress7132 Any time you want to not cry while cutting your onions.
@barethor5869 I'm trying to imagine a situation where you have a sink that is wide enough and shallow enough where you can cut vegetables in it, a portable cutting board shaped well enough to fit in that sink without tilting in any way, and still far enough below the faucet where you would feel comfortable slicing an onion.
Outside of in a professional restaurant with industry sinks, I just can't see it.
just use a fan
Oh man, Mattpatt and Santi was such a funny duo, I hope we see more of them in the future
if only you knew........
Well.
Turns out, the real secret is to have matpat cut all your onions.
But thats just a theory, A FOOD THEORY
My theory is that the contact lenses themselves, and not desensitization to the nerves, is what gave MatPat his immunity. This is based on my own experiences with wearing contact lenses, in which I never cry while wearing them when chopping onions, but if I'm not wearing them I always cry
Same! If I’m cutting an especially volatile onion, it will irritate my nose, but never my eyes. Contacts for the win!
Wearing contact lenses hasn't stopped me from cry when cutting onions
Same! And when I wear my glasses I’ll cry a bunch.
Same
Contacts- no tears... glasses- tears.
Right here, contacts work!
I used to think that this channel was a prank, or would fail. Now it is the only theorist channel with notifications on.
Matpat inspires me.. My parents said if i get 50K followers They'd buy me a professional camera for recording..begging u guys , literally
Begging...
Same 😂
same
@@namantherockstaryou don’t need a nice camera to do well. Try getting a Samsung phone cheaper and a decent camera
Lol smae
I'm in a culinary class as a school program and it's licensed as a restaurant. Our onions are stored in the walk-in fridge and that has the same effect as freezing while they stay easy to cut and preserves the flavor
One thing to bear in mind is the nasocrimal duct (tear duct) connects the nasal passage and sinuses to the eyes, so goggles alone won't completely do the job. The gas from the onions can still get to your eyes when you breathe it in.
Depends how sensitive you are towards the chemical, for me only a downhill ski mask does the job
@@tominieminen66 - Sensitivity is certainly a factor, as we saw in the video. A pair of swim goggle alone won't stop the fumes reaching the eyes, though. It might be enough to stop from crying if you have low sensitivity, but fumes still have access.
So you're saying the real solution is a gas mask
If anybody wants a few extra chuckles, turn on the closed captions for this one, especially at the part with the bread.🤣
Yep, shotout to yoshi the captions designer
Thank you for that. Totally made me smile and worth going back for.
it was indeed worth it
Thank you Yosi for 'MufflePat for dramatic effect'
Matpat saying "unless you're building up an emotional attachment to your onions" made me laugh and choke on my cereal
The editor missed an opportunity to use Onion from Cooking Companions being stabbed. That is about the only Onion I would come close to forming an attachment to.
XD
*Puppies*
I actually tried the fan thing, but I also had about twice the size of the fan as you guys did and you have to get it at the right angle and it really did work
My wife has designated me the onion cutter in our house. This episode helped us realize why I am seemingly immune to the effects others feel! When I was growing up, to weird people out I would open my eyes wide and touch it with my bare fingertip. Apparently I just killed the nerve endings! Thank you Food Theory!
I used to do that until I got pinkeye 😅
@@Em_is_sad💀
my eyes hurt just reading this
Lol you were that kid
See, I remember being taught in an Italian cooking class that if you're dicing onions, you cut almost all the way through the onion from the base to the top, leaving the base connected. Then you cut perpendicular to the initial slices, dicing them all at once. This works because it prevents most of the onion irritants from getting into the air. At least until they're diced and you're ready to use them.
I mean my mum taught me to cut the onion in half and soak them in a bowl of water for a while, afterwards you won't cry when you cut it and it still tastes great, works every time and I have no idea why.
I recently started doing this because I wanted to wash my onions before I cooked them and ever since I've always out my onions in a bowl of water before cutting them
Maybe the water is taking in the compound
Clever!
I came here to say the same thing. Works well for onions, scallions, or any of the alliums! ❤
I just cut them in the bathtub
That "Why are you like this" is the culmination of Matpat's personality.
I think dry eyes also gave Mat an advantage. The irritants of the onion start affecting you when they dissolve in your tears. Mat's eyes are mutch less sensitive because of the constant prodding of contact lens use so they generate less tears that would be the body's response to the nerves being stimulated in there. Less tears means less gas can be dissolved witch adds to his already existing resilience to stimulus of the nerves in his eyes.
So what I'm hearing is, if Santi wants to be successful, he needs to make sure Mat doses himself with something like an eye lubricant, right?
That's a really good observation
also...
Which*
Honestly the most effective way to prevent tears for me has been wearing my old chem lab goggles (which I need to buy new ones). People always question why I have them, but they've worked for me. The second best was chopping fast and putting the onions in water as fast as possible so there's just less gas in the air.
Same. Chem lab goggles and slap chop for me
I run a fan blowing across my face, so all the onion juice mist that comes out goes elsewhere. Has worked no problem for the 5 years i've worked in food prep.
Same same. They work like a treat.
time to chop them underwater. freeze them beforehand
When I was a child, I would always my chem lab googles for cutting onions!
Poor Santi XD he was really fun to see in camera with Matt though! Their energy together was great. Awesome episode as always guys!
Working in commercial kitchens for about 12 years I found that mouth breathing and refrigerator / ice water bath temps were the 2 most effective and practical ways (also does destroy the cell walls like freezing). If you have a hard time mouth breathing sticking something in your mouth like bread or a raw carrot like a cigar, is what we did, helps you to focus mouth breathing. I have a feeling it has a lot to do with the nose and smell. If I can smell it, I'm crying. If I can't smell it, no tears here.
What I always do is peel the onion, cut it in half and then immediately run it through tap water, then cut it into pieces. I'm not sure if this just washes the acid juices away or contributes to getting the onion colder, but it has always worked for me.
Bruh just cut it in water
I do the same, works like a champ
Personally, I think part of the reason MatPat wasn't suffering was because he has implanted contacts as I find wearing my contacts has given me immunity to the pounds of onions I slice at work but when I wear my glasses then I get affected
I think there's another factor to the microwave attempt that you didn't consider. The heat could easily have broken a bunch of the onion's cell walls before you even started cutting, causing a larger and more uniform release of gas. The frozen version also would lyse the cell walls, but they also freeze the water in the cells, which would prevent most of the reactions from taking place (and honestly, would additionally prevent a lot of the enzymes from even making their way to their targets in the first place).
I’m pretty sure they said that in a more simpler way and they ment what you said in the second sentence
what I always do before cutting an onion is: peel it, cut it in half, and rinse it under cold water to remove the juices.
YES!!! Why didn't they try this?
THATS WHY I DONT CRY!!! I always WASH the onions after I PEEL THEM!!!!
If you don't want to freeze the onion, the fridge is a great option, too. Also, as Santi brought up at the beginning, try cutting the onion with the root still attached. If you're dicing, cut towards the root first then cut horizontal to the root. It reduces how much time the onions have to impact your eyes, and also keeps the process simple. Unrelated, try using the ridges in the onion as guides for the first cuts, aiming for the onion's center. It helps keep your diced onion evenly sized
Hello Matpat!! Thank you and your theorist team so much for all these wonderful and informative videos! Recently I got my parents hooked on your food theory and style theory channels, and we’ve been rewatching your older videos during dinner time together, and recently your video about PRIME and Gatorade has helped us in the real world! My grandfather was in the hospital and I’m not sure what they gave him but whatever it was sheds potassium, and they didn’t give him any potassium supplements to make up for it, so my parents went to the store and bought him some prime instead of having him eat like 3 times the amount of bananas and he’s doing better now, thanks!!
Hmmm
Matpat inspires me.. My parents said if i get 50K followers They'd buy me a professional camera for recording..begging u guys , literally
Begging...
@DJILMarioBrosOfficialI know who you are DJ cook made a video about you to anyone who sees this don't do what it is saying
@DJILMarioBrosOfficialgo drink clorox, it's healthy for you and Noone else
@@elgato_susieWhat dj cook video was it?
The one that always works for me, is to cut the onions next to a open flame. I was under the impression this was a very common hack, surprised you didn’t cover it. I hadn’t heard of any of the others you tried.
My mother tried this when I was a kid but it never worked so we stopped doing it.
If the smoke covers the gas, that makes sense.
I've heard cutting them under water can help, that seems difficult to do though and you end up with onion soup, but it could be worth testing.
This is the correct answer! I used to work at Papa Johns, and I would fill a foodsafe tub with a few inches of water, drop the cutting board in, and cut them underwater. My manager was REALLY susceptible to onions and started doing it that way himself, and he swore by it after that.
It completely eliminates the problem.
Considering their doing this in mats own kitchen all can I imagine is late in the evening Steph is like in the kitchen either grabbing herself dinner or desert and just seeing an onion in the freezer like "yup.....this is normal."
You see, this is why I love any of MattPat's/ Any Theorist content. Such a simple concept but it's so enjoyable with how they produce it. Keep it coming guys!
You could also just put the onions in ice water. It does the same thing as freezing it, but you don't lose flavor or texture :)
100 percent with that. Sometimes I just dunk a freshly cut half onion in a bowl of water or under the facet. Doesn't even have to be iced. I'd like to add that if youre already affected by the onions bringing your eyes close to a source of water (running faucet or even a cup of water) helps relieve the tears faster.
I love reading everyone’s own experiences! So interesting that we all have different levels of tolerance!
As someone who has worked food service for more than a decade and cut thousands of onions, I loved this episode! Cold for the onion is spot on, I am super sensitive to onion and have been putting them in the fridge (not freezer) for 20-30min before prep for years. If you really don't want to cry, do NOT cut the root, those chemicals are more concentrated there.
Now, if you really want to make MatPat cry, I can speak from experience here. Cut them on an electric slicer, one of those big boys you see at deli counters, in a space with poor ventilation. I was crying for nearly an hour after, every time. 😂
There's also the ice water bath method to chill them more quickly if needed. Personally, I store my onions in the fridge by default, and I cut off the bottom decently short of the root as the first cut and throw the root out immediately. If you work fast while it's still cold, and make clean cuts to slice, dice or mince to do minimal damage, it's generally not too bad (depending on the type of onion). The haphazard messy chop job they were doing during some parts is exactly what you don't want to do.
If you do a part 2, you should consider placing the onions in water. My grandma used place them (peeled) in water for a few minutes before chopping them. I am bored and don't do it, but when an onion really gets to me i put it under running water for a little bit and its fumes cool down. It kinda works and does not affect the tecture, its just like washing any other fresh produce!
When I was in middle school, my friend and I started chopping onions to try to get ourselves to cry and we just couldn’t. We even held a quarter of an onion under our noses, but we just couldn’t cry. Our faces were turning red but there were no tears. My other friend was laughing at us so much
I formally request more Sanit content, simply because he is very funny
That aged like fine wine
Yes, yes it did
The contact thing is super interesting! My sister and mother never wear contacts, for my mom it’s literally just painful for her, but both of them don’t react that much to onions, I can wear contacts and really don’t mind poking my eyes getting them in and out but onions drive me insane. Then there’s my dad who’s a veteran who got his eyes damaged in a combat tour and has been wearing contacts daily ever since. He does not react to onions like at all. Duh.
I’m surprised you didn’t try Vaseline. It is basically my go to for anything volatile. Just put a little bit under your nose and it will “catch” most of the volatile compounds. Also ideal if you have to deal with a very stinky job (most EMS and emergency room personnel know this trick)
Mat: I’ve been crying a lot more since my surgery.
Also Mat: *no reaction to anything, even after shoving his face in onions*
Matt you definitely need to try the goggles again, but one that includes a nose piece. A Quarter of an onion will make me cry waterfalls. And when I cut a bag of onions for French onion soup, im perfectly fine.
As someone working to become a chef this is going to be invaluable for me!
Well done matt you are helping people so much with your food theory videos!
Just put them in the fridge the day before, it helps immensely
I hope I’m not the only one who thinks this was one of the funniest videos yet. While Matpat was trying to get any reaction, Santi was trying so hard to get his eyes to stop reacting and he definitely gave matpat a few “how insane are you” looks
One of the things that work for me is to not only keep the knives razor sharp, which makes the onions release way less juices (it's also generally safer than having dull knifes), but to also breathe through my mouth. It doesn't prevent the reaction, but definately delays it. Dunking the onion in water helps as well, as the juices dissolve in the big bowl of water rathen than evaporate into your eyes
My parents put the onion in the refrigerator instead of the freezer. Could you do a follow up episode to see if refrigerator is as effective or less effective than freezer and whether or not it has the same downsides as the frozen one for cooking?
I was taught to avoid cutting the root for as long as possible to reduce the amount of gas, but I’m not sure how this holds up. Would love to see a test!
I bet its because its reducing the amount being cut at once, so if paired with another test that "somewhat" works, itd turn into a better result.
Probably still not as good as fridging the onions, but at least comparable
I remember cooking with onion for several years, without crying. Years later, I cried and realised I had been using weak onions all along!
Villain orgin story
I don't know about the smaller fan but I've definitely used a box fan for cutting onion before. I was cool and my eyes were nice and happy.
I use my ceiling fan and if the AC is in the window that fan too, plus chilled I rarely cry.
who's here after the gum episode? Ollie got his wish :)
so happy for him it was the cutest thing ever:)
I looked for you after i saw that part
I’m surprised they never tested putting an onion near an open flame. I’ve heard that one in my entire life and done it most of my life.
One of the TikToks highlighted at the beginning showed that. Maybe they'll test it in the next round.
That and holding an (unlit) match sticking out of your mouth
Best way to not cry when cutting onions. Do not give it a name. You'll just end up getting attached and when you reach the inevitable, it's just going to make the whole thing much harder. I miss you Steve, Lucas, Mark and Steve 2. You were delicious. :(
Ah that is why my ex didn't tear up when she cut onions. She had no heart.
What if Steve 2 was Steve's child and he will know he will inevitabley die in the same fate as his father 😢
One that works great for me is doing it next to running water. The water flowing (as a sink) moves air pulling it to the water and helps. Another option that i dont like as much is to let the onions soak so that the chemicals flow into the water
You can also just refrigerate the onions - doesn't affect the flavor or make it harder to cut, and works great for me
I cant be the only one who loves how at 12:22 santi just slow motioned his way onto the floor
16:39 MattPatt talking onion biology, Santi dying from the onion and trying to humour him!
I honestly love the fact that 2 grown men are having fun with bread 😂, sounds exactly like me when i was a child "feeding" the ducks at the park
I was waiting for a joke with TF2's Pyro making an appearance, as the sounded like Pyro with all that bread.
Yosi's cc is hilarious right around the bread bit
I always heard cutting them under ice water prevented tears completely, surprised they didn't try that before freezing it.
I haven't tried cutting them in the water, but I have tried cutting top and bottom off and then slicing in half and swishing in water. And that method works great for me!
I’m not sure if it even needs to be cold. I bet it would work with room temp water.
A weird thing that works for me is wearing my contact lenses instead of my glasses. I have no idea why that works, especially considering that the nose should still be a factor, but maybe I'm just not that sensitive to cutting onions in general. However, I cry a lot more when I'm wearing my glasses. For Santi, maybe try this with some nose plugs.
The goggle trick should work. My parents always had a pair of goggles in the kitchen and especially when we would prepare certain dishes in bulk it did wonders. Maybe you should try one of those that cover the nose as well (like for snorkeling), in my expirience those work even better. Probably by also protecting the nose and the reaction happening with the saliva in your mouth instead of the eyes
I wonder if the swim mask that also covers the nose would improve it? Then you'd not get the gas anywhere near your eyes or in your sinuses through your nose? Do your parents use the kind like the video?
If they think the google didn't have a perfect seal and the gas got inside, then they were just wearing it wrong. The google is supposed to block the water from getting into the eyes under water!
15:05 I just love that zoom into the face of pain
absolutely agreed on the last part, I am immune to onion practically when I wear my contacts (except if it's reallllllll strong onion then I do feel it too whilst everyone else bawling) also something I struggled with for a while was how to efficiently remove the chemicals from your hands afterwards, so mom bought for me this steel soap thing... and it works, weirdly enough. Would love to see the science behind that!
Seconding the stainless steel thing. The chemical reaction makes the onion molecules stick to the steel, which is the opposite of when you try to remove the onion smell from your hands with soap, which actually produces the reaction that makes sulfuric acid and makes it worse. Steel soap works!
My Grandpa was a Head chef at a Michelin star restaurant. His professional secret he taught me was to always cut both ends off of the onion first. It releases all the pressure inside of the onion at once. That way it doesn't leak gas every time you cut in. Doing your first cut down the middle also helps with crying.
I was wondering why I don’t get effected by onions that much… I cut them just like this. Interesting thank you!
@@whereintheworld333 *affected :)
and using sharp knives might also be helping
I agree, I work with onions everyday and I simply cut both ends, walk off a few minutes and return
Wow, that's so cool! My middle school chemical teacher talked about how you cry because of the gas, so I was like "ah, I'm going to cut it at arms length so the gas don't hit my face" and never had problems with onions, but I cut them exactly like that (just cause that's how my mom taught to chop them and I did in automatic pilot or something), so maybe the distance wasn't the thing that made the hack work 😅
I'm really sensitive to onion fumes and my fiance LOVES onions so what we do that works for us is swim goggles BUT we use the extra large ones that have the nose bit, as opposed to the smaller ones that just cover the eyes. They seem to have a better seal too. c:
"Thank you for joining me on your show" aged differently now that he is quitting
Hi. My grandparents used to let the onions in a barn with no heating through the winter and so growing up I learned that leaving to onions outside to freeze this is the way to go. I can assure you, it works everytime. Great video!
I used to cut onions in a plastic bag (which I washed and re-used afterwards, to avoid plastic waste).But I stopped doing that since well...Wasting water wasn't any better. It DID work like a charm though, absolutely no tears.
ALSO: I love that I turned on the closed captions by accident. Yosi, if you read this, your efforts did not go unnoticed, you made me giggle.
😁😁
I actually discovered the frozen trick by accident after cutting a leftover onion that had been in the fridge for a day. I’ve been sticking my onions in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before cutting them ever since.
Are they easy to cut and still keep the flavor?
Pretty easy. I’m not completely sure about flavor.
5:02 is my favorite part. The “Matthew DANICA Patrick” makes me laugh every time.
Huh, interesting that I, merely a fairweather viewer of the Theorist RUclips channels, seemed to know that Matthew Patrick's middle name is "Robert" before one of his own associates did...
(To be sure, I originally watched this video only a few weeks after it became viewable on RUclips and was aware of MatPat's middle name then, as well. I just wasn't able to comment at that moment.)
I never had an issue with onions after I:
A) Learned how to properly sharpen/hone my knives
B) Developed the confidence to work quickly without cutting myself
Minimal exposure time means no more tears, even for a fine dice.
EDIT: Your theory at the end regarding your eye surgery reminds me of how I seem to have a much higher tolerance for mouth pain after wearing braces for 8 years as a child. I wonder if I just have nerve damage now..
I wouldn't worry, you don't have nerve damage. You just have built your tolerance and you were a child when you had them. Children have a lower threshold for pain and everyone's definition for pain is different. Experiences shape what we each define as painful, even when we compare those experiences against our own.
Exactly… speed is the main answer. Same here. I never get an issue now I work fast.
15:47 Apparently, they also start screaming like hyraxes
The only time I’ve teared up from cutting red onions is when I’ve raised the onion close to my face to smell it, and it made my eyes sting. But just cutting it? No issue at all lol. It’s so interesting how different people react so differently. I do wonder though, WOULD a nose plug work for this? Would it make a difference at all?
EDIT: I keep my onions refrigerated! Which seems like a lot of people in the comments are recommending (rather than freezing them), so maybe that helps! :D
6:19 and 6:25 i would like to thank whoever caption this video , especially in this moment , made me chukle loudly
It's really funny how the camera shows Mat trying really hard to make himself cry to panning over to Santi in literal tears
Haven't watched the episode yet, but my favorite method is keeping my onions in the fridge. Works every time. Seems that cold onions don't release nearly as much eye irritant. I also cut onions near my stove, and I have the hood fan on high while cutting.
Edit: Finished watching the video. I think I'll stick with the fridge instead of the freezer. . . or the eye surgery ha ha.
Also just stand next to the hood. Works great for me and you don't need to prepare any special way xD
The differnce in a lot of peoples senetivity actually comes down to the stability of the tearfilm on there eyes. So if you are really senestiv you probably have dry eyes ^^
dude, amazing personalities, interesting subject, quality editing: the theory channels really deliver top tier content for everyone, and they always seem to be happy to deliver
I cry to the same extreme as Santi and even imagining or worse seeing someone experience eye pain causes my eyes to cry.
I was always told to run the cut under running water to reduce crying. That said, the types of onions you choose to cut can also have a massive impact- there's a varietal of onion, Vidalia or sweet, that has been bred to possess markedly less of that chemical.
i absolutely love sweet onions and for this reason! they aren’t strong to just eat straight up either which is great since i can’t get enough of onions
Considering all the foods humanity has altered like Bananas, broccoli & so on I would have been surprised if we hadn't done this to Onions too XD
@mica4977 eh, humans are masochists. If anything, we would make onion with higher sulphur lvls to see if we can cut the most dangerous onions.
Gamming glasses like the ones from Gunnar are really good at blocking out the fumes, because there frames are shaped in a way to hold moisture under the lenses so your eyes dont strain as much. Which also seems to block out fumes farely good.
20:57, SAME SANTI SAMEEEE
literally whenever i watch anything eyeball related it haunts me and i cant sleep not kidding
Thank you for doing this episode as I am allergic to sulfur and this showed me how I may be able to enjoy onions and garlic again.
I love these in-person/experiment type vids on this channel they’re so fun to watch, keep up the good work!
Worked in a restaurant for years and had to chop a LOT of onions. We always put the onions in the freezer before chopping to prevent the eye irritation. Works perfectly.
17:05 Freezing is a physical process, not a chemical process so it does not change the component molecules in the foodstuff. This is why frozen vegetables have practically the same nutritional value as if they were eaten at harvest while vegetables that are harvested and then chemically preserved to be eaten 'fresh' out of season have a different nutritional value.
I had tried the bread one before with that misunderstanding. Just had a mouthful of bread while i cried