Onions make any dish taste extra. But, it can be just as challenging to prepare them because simply chopping them brings anyone to tears. People have tried many ways to avoid these tears when cutting onions, from not cutting the top part, not washing the onion first, and wearing a pair of glasses—the list goes on.
Thankfully–or not, depending on how you want your onions–Australian grocery store Woolworths now sells tearless onions! Preparing meals without tears will now be possible.
“Happy Chop,” Australia’s first crop of the tearless onion, was made available across their stores in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory this July.
The incredible new variety of onions has been in development since the 80s. Several scientific and natural methods, like cross-breeding existing onion types, were done to achieve tearless onions. BASF plant breeder, Rick Watson, is behind this invention.
Onions release combined natural chemicals and enzymes, “volatile compounds,” which, when cut, irritate the eyes and then later on, turn into tears as part of people’s protective mechanism. Happy Chop, on the other hand, contains fewer amount of these compounds. In fact, these compounds even reduce more after they are harvested. The careful cultivation and selective breeding ensured that the volatile compounds are kept to a minimum.
Woolworth shares that Happy Chop can be a good alternative for those who find regular onions too pungent since theirs have sweeter taste now, although some have described the onion as “flavorless.”
Regardless, this breakthrough opens a promising future for the agriculture and food innovation industry. We are yet to see how consumers will react to “updated” crops and produce. But with more research and development, we can only hope for more exciting advancements in the food world.
Anyway, who is excited to try it?
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