The secret to the tearless onion cutting: sharpness, speed but not like that
The onion releases the chemicals that trigger tears when sloping, but the sharpness of the knife and the speed of cutting can affect how these drops leave the air. Physicists have found a possible solution for unchanged onion cuts, but professional chefs probably don’t like it …. The study can be read anyway.
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Researchers at Cornell University analyzed the characteristics of the spray during onion slicing with high -speed cameras.
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According to the results, sharp knives and slow cuts reduce the entry of irritants into the air.
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The research has highlighted that certain cutting techniques can help relieve tears.
When the onion is cut, it sprayed a mixture of sulfur-rich compounds into the air, one of which is syn-propanethial-s oxide, a chemical that triggers the nerves responsible for the tear of the eye. Sunghwan Jung, Cornell University His colleagues and colleagues analyzed in detail with a high -speed camera the spray when slicing onions with different thicknesses and speeds – – Write the New Scientist.
They put on the hillillotine to work
Jung and his team sliced a quarter onion with black paint with a thin steel blade from a thin steel blade. This helped to track how the onion was deformed and the particles of the resulting spray were observed with a high -speed camera. 5 millimeters thick and 200 millimeters long blades They sharpened them as sharp as a chef. By changing the height of the blade, the cutting speed was set, which varied from about 0.4 to 2 meters per second.
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The researchers found that sharp blades had created less and slower drops with less energy. When the onion is cut with a dull knife, the blade causes the onion peel to bow, storing elastic energy and building pressure inside the onion. As a result, when the shell kills, each particle can reach up to 40 meters per second. As these drops reach the air, they can break, creating new drops.
Crying formula: onion cutting with dull knife, quickly
A dull knife can produce up to 40 times as much drops as a sharp, while the fastest-speed cut was four times as many particles as at the slowest cutting speed, the team said. Therefore, sharp knives and slow cuts should result in less irritating chemicals in the face, but Jung and his colleagues did not try it. Their results are summarized study (which has not yet undergone a professional review) The Arxiv Preprint page is already available.
The sharp knife and the properly selected slicing speed can be capable of miracles. / Photo: Getty Images
Note that professional chefs work with a sharp knife, but they can sliced the onion with lightning speed, so crying may end. One chef -trick However, according to the root of the onion before slicing, the root of the onion should not be removed. Perhaps the explanation for this is that this appendix prevents the development of the spray more dispersed, too high in internal tension. If the Cornell researchers are right, the tears can also be moderated if (without a sharp knife) we do not rush, that is, slowly slice the onion. It is worth a try anyway.
