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So 40 years of cooking, and I discover this (maybe other people have too) - slice the onion on a plate in the sink with a gently running stream of water streaming over the onion. Prevents all that stray spray of slicing / dicing / chopping. The stream of water, not the plate. 
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I use the "chef way" (cut in half, peel, then cut the halves: 7 Ways To Cut Onions Like A Pro Chef | Bon Appétit - YouTube[^]) as apparently leaving the root part attached means that methionine and cystine aren;t released from the onion, which is converted by the lacrimal ducts into sulphuric acid which causes the tears.
It works for me, I haven't had any tears in years and I regularly fill a slow cooker with finely chopped onions for caramelisation*. That's finely dicing about 8lbs of onion at a time, I guess?
* The end result after eight hours - which is pretty tiny - gets vacuum packed in small portions and frozen, then used for soups, stews, and onion mayo as needed.
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I must try this.
My eyes hurt like hell when cutting onions.
So much that I sometimes even need two sessions to cut a single onion.
The pain is simply unbearable and I have to go outside until I can keep my eyes open again.
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Wear glasses of any kind for a bit of help. Even swimming goggles.
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OriginalGriff wrote: as apparently leaving the root part attached means that methionine and cystine aren;t released from the onion,
I'll have to try that! And thanks for the science lesson why onions cause tears. 
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I found that through years of rubbing chopped onions directly into my eyes I've developed an immunity.
Not just to onions mind you - to crying at all.
The pain apparently made me emotionally dead inside.
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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Emotionally dead, until someone mentions Miracle Whip....
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*hiss*
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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Do not cheat: Tears are the correct punishment for using onions.
"In testa che avete, Signor di Ceprano?"
-- Rigoletto
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Luckily - for me - I'm simply immune to the fumes of onion... or hot pepper.. or horseradish...
I can dice/grind/chop them without any effect (while the rest of the family run to hide )
"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." ― Albert Einstein
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I usually have someone else cut my onions. Works like a charm, never shed a tear !
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I just buy a pre-sliced union. Open package, throw plastic in my green container, done.
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On the other hand, this can clean your eyes.
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Some years ago I discovered that wearing contact lenses (which I only do occasionally) prevents the onion from affecting my eyes.
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Swimming goggles should work? I might actually try it next time I'm chopping them.
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Keith Barrow wrote: Swimming goggles should work?
I was thinking something along those lines. For me I probably need welder's glasses.
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My wife once told me the chefs at a place she used to work at would stick out their tongues while slicing. If you wet your tongue and stick it out apparently the vapours cling to that instead of your eyes. It's not perfect but I've been doing it for years and it seems to work quite well though it does make the underside of your tongue taste like onions for a while.
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Chris Copeland wrote: If you wet your tongue and stick it out apparently the vapours cling to that instead of your eyes.
As Spock would say: "Fascinating!"
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On a serious note, chewing while cutting also prevents tears and is less water consuming.
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Back in the 80s when I worked in fast food, we used that trick and would also cut the onions in the walk-in cooler.
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"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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an onion i can't shed tears over is an onion i can't love 
«The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled» Plutarch
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Wordle 451 4/6
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Welcome back Vivi!
Wordle 451 5/6 sometimes brain refuses to click 
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Wordle 451 4/6
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