Scientific Study Debunks Onion Myths: Sharpness, Not Temperature, is Key to Tear-Free Chopping

Significantly, the research also took aim at one of the most widely accepted and practiced folk remedies: the belief that chilling the onion in a refrigerator or freezer before cutting will reduce the chemical release. The scientific findings soundly debunked this popular myth, demonstrating that the temperature of the onion had no measurable or practical impact on the volume of tear-inducing gas released upon cutting. Therefore, the time spent chilling the onion, or the hassle of dealing with an unnecessarily cold and potentially soggy vegetable, is completely wasted effort. The thermal myth’s demise further solidifies the study's central tenet: the mechanical action of the knife is the single most important variable, rendering external preparations like cooling or heating entirely irrelevant to the core problem.