TikTok hack that stops you from crying when chopping an onion goes viral

Never shed a tear in the kitchen again!

The simple method of chopping an onion without it making you cry has blown people’s minds, so we put it to the test to see if it actually works.

Home cooks around the globe are shedding way too many tears when chopping onions - and they really don’t need to be.

According to TikTok, there is a very easy way of getting around your eyes stinging and welling up when preparing dinner, with many claiming the easy hack totally works.

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TikTok claims a wet towel under an onion will stop you from crying. Image: Leah Goulis / Kidspot

How to chop an onion without crying

TikTok user intuitiveeating3 recently shared a piece of kitchen wisdom that involves simply wetting a paper towel and placing it on your chopping board before cutting the onion on top of the moist paper.

Now, we’re no scientists, but the theory behind it is that the acid that is expelled from an onion when it’s being chopped up is attracted to a water source – normally the water in your eyes being the closest to it, hence the usual tearful reaction.

But by placing a wet towel underneath, the acid will then draw downwards towards the moisture and won’t affect your eyes at all. Genius! Or is it?

Fans are blown away by the onion hack

While we’ve heard of ways around the crying – including simply placing the onion in the freezer before cutting and soaking the onion in water - people online were completely blown away by this hack.

“I just put on goggles,” one follower laughed.

“Works for me,” another person added.

Another added: “It’s new part of my life. Bless whoever worked this out.”

But not everyone was a fan. Many claimed they had tried the hack and it didn’t work.

“Doesn’t work, tried it,” one person claimed.

“I work in a kitchen and have tried this and it doesn’t work,” another echoed.

Does the hack actually stop you from crying? Image: Leah Goulis / Kidspot

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Does a wet paper towel really stop you from crying when chopping an onion?

Naturally, I decided to put it to the test myself.

Using a Spanish (red) onion, I tested one half of the onion straight on the chopping board and the other half with the wet paper towel underneath.

As expected, the half without any help made my eyes tingle the moment I peeled off the outer layer and by the time I finished chopping, they were well and truly crying.

I then wet a paper towel and placed it on top of the board before chopping the other half…. And… NOTHING! Not a tingle or tear.

The hack totally worked. I mean, it’s not the easiest way to cut an onion, and soaking it in water seems like a much easier method to avoiding the annoyance… but it worked nonetheless!

Originally published as TikTok hack that stops you from crying when chopping an onion goes viral