If slicing onions has you sobbing like those Sarah McLachlan ASPCA commercials, science has a cure for your crying eyes.
After a mere two decades of R&D, scientists have developed onions that won't make you cry when you chop them, per The Times.
So, put away those onion goggles, pot lids, unlit matches, and bread slices.
Blinding me with science, not onions
Known as Smile Balls — an on-the-nose name that sounds like how you'd describe something after anesthesia — the tearless onions were first cultivated in Hokkaido, Japan.
- In 2002, scientists identified lachrymatory-factor synthase, an enzyme released when an onion is cut, leading to a chain reaction that makes our eyes water.
- Researchers blocked the tear-inducing enzyme by blasting the onions with heavy ion beams. Heavy.
- The result is a tearless, sweet onion that supposedly doesn't cause bad breath (promises, promises), and tastes like an apple when eaten raw. Yum.
- Smile Balls sell in Japan for roughly $2 each, and are projected to increase fivefold in sales over the next 3 years.
- Smartly rebranded as Goldies in the US, they're currently grown in Washington and distributed across the country.
Onions? More like Funyuns!
Smile Balls/Goldies aren't the only cheerfully named onions designed to keep you from crying over dinner (at least not because of the onions).
- Smileys, developed through 30 years (!) of cross breeding, are sweeter than yellow onions and become milder over time.
- Sunions, developed through crossbreeding, claim to be America's first tearless onion. Some say they're mellow and sweet, others say, "almost flavorless."
- Sweetie Tearless onions are organically grown by Peri & Sons Farms in Nevada.
- And in Australia, Happy Chop onions are keeping eyes dry.
Tired of weeping over the cutting board? You've got options.
Keep in mind, most of the tearless onions are sweet, which is great if you're cranking out blooming onions or French onion soup (in which case, can we come over?). Or eating them raw. Yikes.
But if you're looking for that classic aromatic depth, maybe just endure a brief tear-inducing onion slicing session. (Just throw the onion in the fridge before cutting it.)
Food
Food
