Genius 1p kitchen hack can stop you from crying when chopping onions

Putting a wet paper towel next to the chopping board supposedly helps stop your eyes from watering (Photo: Adobe)Putting a wet paper towel next to the chopping board supposedly helps stop your eyes from watering (Photo: Adobe)
Putting a wet paper towel next to the chopping board supposedly helps stop your eyes from watering (Photo: Adobe)

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A woman has shared a genius cheap kitchen hack to help stop your eyes from watering when chopping onions.

Many people have a love-hate relationship with onions when preparing a meal in the kitchen, question whether they are needed in a recipe if the preparation just causes you to cry.

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But Trina Michelle, from Torquay in Canada, claims there is a simple solution to the tear-jerking process and shared a 1p trick in a Facebook Post.

What is the 1p hack?

In her post, Ms Michelle explained that a simple wet paper towel will help to stop tears from rolling down your face.She said that by placing a wet paper towel next to your chopping board while you cut onions, the chemicals in the root vegetable will gravitate toward the towel instead of your eyes.

Ms Michelle said: "Did you know the reason you ‘cry’ when you chop onions, is that the chemical in the onion is attracted to the nearest source of water (which is usually the eyes).

"’If you place a wet paper towel next to your chopping board, the onion will gravitate towards that and not your eyes.’’

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Does the trick actually work?

Ms Michelle’s top tip has received a mix of reactions from online users, with some saying it helped a lot, while others were not convinced.

The majority of home cooks said the trick “helps so much”, with one cooking enthusiast commenting: "Shut the front door! Definitely trying it.’’

Someone else who had tried the hack agreed, writing: ‘’YES! Can confirm this helped soooo much [sic].’’

A third user said: "I love that no matter how old you are, you can still learn new things. Sure going to do this one!”

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Another fan wrote: ‘’I definitely have to try this! Usually by the third or fourth slice into the onion, my eyes are watering so badly I can’t see what I’m doing.”

However, other users claimed that the trick didn’t help much and offered alternative suggestions for tackling the problem instead.

One person said the only solution that has helped them while cutting onions is wearing contact lenses.

A few others also shared suggestions to the common problem, including running water in the sink for the duration of the chopping, and placing onions in the fridge before cutting.

Another person added: “I have tried chopping onion while holding a piece of bread in my mouth.”

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