Inquiry Reports

Introduction

This report will break down all the knowledge of onions into a small informative report.

Body

It is not the odour of the onion that makes us cry, but the gas the onion releases. Onions have a gas called sulphur. The onion itself contains oil, which contains sulphur, an irritant to both our noses and to our eyes. Cutting an onion arouses a gas contained within the onion, propanethiol s-oxide, which then couples with the enzymes in the onion to emits a passive sulphur compound. When this upwardly mobile gas encounters the water produced by the tear ducts in our eyelids, it produces sulfur acid. In response to the caustic acid our eyes automatically blink, and produce tears which irritate the eye, and which flush out the sulphuric acid. There are at least 10 rings inside the onion.

Many people start rubbing the eyes which often works counter-productive if you just cut onions, as most likely your hands are covered with onion juice. Rubbing this will make the irritation worse. These are all kinds of remedies for dealing with the irritation phenonomen. Some more effective than others. It’s a general rule, move your head as far away from the onion as you can so the gas will disperse before it reaches your eyes. The easiest way to not cry when cutting onion is by leaving the fluffy round bit at the bottom.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this age old problem has affected many people. After all these years we have finally found out that it is the sulphur in onions that makes us cry.