Why does cutting onions make my wife tear up? Is there a way to protect her eyes from the vapors? The answer to those question led the creator, Sav Rebecchi to design the Cook's Crown.
During his research he found that the problem challenges food preparers of all levels of skill. Unfortunately several vegetables, mostly from the onion family, release vapors that irritate the eyes when they are being prepared for consumption.
In addition to the discomfort from gases that irritate the lachrymal glands making the eyes tear, the preparer is often in a situation of potential physical harm when they are using a knife or other sharp tools and need to see clearly what is being cut through their tears.
Although there were a number of suggested techniques to eliminate or reduce the ferocity of the vapors… like short term placement in the freezer, cutting under water or near hot running water steam, there is no standard promise of them working.
More recently the use of air sealed goggles is being offered as a solution but they are not unique to the wearer and fail when the user’s face does not fit the standard form allowing vapors to eventually reach the eyes. The use of goggles is not usually chosen by those who wear prescription glasses and there is an obvious safety need to see properly while using sharp utensils and other such devices.
Those who have newer counter/cook top level exhaust fans are having some success in preventing the problem by drawing the vapors away from the cutting area on a horizontal plane.
That success lead Sav to the conclusion that the solution was to prevent the vapors from reaching the eyes, which is very difficult during the normal food preparation activities, especially because the simple act of breathing draws the vapors being released by the food upward toward the face to the nostrils just below the eyes.
With the increased popularity of outdoor cooking on grills the problem of eye irritation from the smoke created by food juices and flavor coatings coming in contact with the heat source has heightened. The cook needs to be on guard to quickly step away a safe distance which takes a good amount of concentration and experience to avoid eye damage from the vapors.
There are various devices designed to protect the face during industrial, medical and military activities that could be used, but they are not very affordable or comfortable to wear, nor practical for the typical home cooking environment.
Sav's simple but remarkable solution was a method to deflect harmful vapors from reaching the eyes with a high volume of downward forced air.
The design incorporates an array of light weight fans positioned against the forehead above the eyes that, when activated, produce an air curtain of protection.
The unique and Patented part of the Crown is that it's design draws vapor free air from behind the cook using their body as a shield from the harmful vapors.
The finished design is light weight and comfortable to wear and allows unobstructed viewing of the food being prepared... especially for those wearing eye glasses.
Best of all it works like a charm and his wife no longer tears up while cutting onions or anything else with irritating vapors.
[ How to get a Crown? ]
We are in the process of establishing a manufacturer for the Cook's Crown that can produce them at an affordable price. Sav will be happy to contact you as soon as they are available to the public. You can send an email to be put on the list.