A guest blog (and product review) by Dragon
Dave’s wife.
I wondered why is that the onions make us
cry, so I did a little research and found when you cut an onion, you break cells,
releasing their contents which are enzymes and Amino acid sulfoxides in the form
of sulfenic acids. Enzymes that were kept separate now are free to mix with the
sulfenic acids to produce propanethiol S-oxide, a volatile sulfur compound that
wafts upward toward your eyes. This gas reacts with the water in your tears to
form sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid burns, stimulating your eyes to release
more tears to wash the irritant away.
I found several folk remedies to keep
the gases from getting into my eyes. These included burning candles or matches nearby
while slicing the onion, cooling or freezing the onion before cutting, and even
slicing the onion underwater. No matter
what I tried, I always ended up crying.
Then one night, while watching "Castle" (one of our favorite TV shows), I
noticed that Richard Castle and his daughter Alexis were wearing goggles while
chopping onion. This got me
thinking, “I need a pair of those!”
With two onions awaiting my attention, I
decided the goggles were worth a try. So
I dug out a coupon for Bed Bath and Beyond, and off Dragon Dave and I
went. The first sales clerk had never
heard of Onion Goggles, but the second led us to where the goggles were displayed
amid a vast selection of kitchen gadgets.
They only had pink in stock, but I was thinking, “Yeah, they have the
goggles!” Then we headed home. It was time to face the onions.
 |
| Gearing-up For Hazardous Duty |
At home, I got out the onion, chopping board,
and knife. Donning the goggles I got
started chopping. What a great
experience it was: no tearing up, no crying, and zero pain. I can now chop onions anytime I need to. The only drawback is that the goggles don’t
fit over my glasses, so I have to be a little more careful when chopping so I
do not chop off any fingers.
 |
| Mission Accomplished! |
The next test will come when I harvest the
dozen or so onions out in the garden.
Dragon Dave’s Wife
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