Can Drinking Water Before Chopping Onions Keep You from Crying? We Tested This and 5 Other Methods

We all know the feeling. You’re slicing into a crisp onion, and suddenly the waterworks come on. As if you were watching the last scene of Titanic and every pet-adoption commercial rolled up in one, tears are streaming down your face.

Why do onions make us cry?

Onions produce a chemical called syn-propanethial-S-oxide, which is known to trigger tears. When the onion is cut, this chemical sprays into the air, causing even the most masterful cooks to well up.

So perhaps the real question is how do you cut an onion without crying?

On this front, wild claims abound. We’ve heard that everything from chewing candy to lighting candles can help prevent the tears. Naturally, our Test Kitchen wanted to try them all. Follow along as Taste of Home‘s Test Cooks, Nick Iverson and Matt Hass, debunk the myths and ultimately settle on the best way to cut an onion without crying.