You're Cutting Onions Wrong And That's Why You Cry So Much

The tears aren't inevitable. Your knife and your cut decide it.

Onions cry back when you crush their cells, releasing an eye-stinging gas into the air.

A dull knife smashes far more cells than it slices, so a sharp blade genuinely means fewer tears. Sharpen it.

Chilling the onion for fifteen minutes first slows the reaction, and cutting near a running extractor fan or open window carries the gas away.

Leave the root end intact until last too. It holds the highest concentration of the stinging compounds, so save it for the final slice.