‘Genius’ paper towel hack stops you from crying while chopping onions

23 March 2021, 12:23

A man has shared his hack for cutting onions. Picture: TikTok @mealswithmax

A simple TikTok hack claims to stop you from crying while chopping onions.

Whether you’re making a sweet potato curry or a creamy tomato soup, onions are a staple in most family kitchens.

But while they add flavour to our favourite dishes, preparing them can be a problem, especially if your eyes end up streaming.

Well, now one man has claimed to have the answer to your onion-crying problems, as he’s shared a hack on TikTok.

In the social media video, Max McCann - also known as @mealswithmax - claims all you need to keep the tears at bay is a wet paper towel.

He said: "Here's a tip you might not know about when chopping onions.

"If you get a damp cloth like this and put it on the chopping board, it will stop your eyes from crying when you're chopping them.

"Apparently the acid in the onions is attracted to water which is usually in your tear ducts, putting a wet towel on the board makes it go to that instead."

Unsurprisingly, the video has now gone viral with more than 15,000 likes and hundreds of comments.

“Omg I needed this!! Gonna try it next time, cutting onions burns my eyes so much ,” wrote one TikTok user.

A paper towel can apparantly stop your eyes from watering while cutting an onion. Picture: TikTok @mealswithmax

A second said: “Wicked!! I normally use a great wooden spoon in my teeth, doused in water ! This has to be better .”

A third wrote: “This 100% works. Saw it on tiktok, did it, now wont stop,” while a fourth added: “You have just changed my life”.

TikTok duo @partyshirt - who try viral hacks to test if they work - have since tried out the chopping trick.

And it was seemingly a success for them, as in a video called the ‘life hack of the century’, the pair said: "We've been cutting for hours and not a single tear.”

According to Healthline, onions release enzymes and sulfenic acid when their skin is broken which combine to produce propanethial S-oxide, an irritating gas.

The tears you produce when chopping onions are 'reflex tears stimulated by exposure to irritants.'

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