Your days of getting teary-eyed in the kitchen may be coming to an end as Japanese company House Foods Group prepares to launch the world's first tear-free onion to the market.

    Aptly named "Smile Ball" because it puts a smile on your face rather than make you cry, this new type of onion is the result of two decades of research.

    In 2002, House Foods Group scientists published a paper in which they hypothesized that tear-inducing enzymes in onions could be weakened while retaining their full flavor and nutritional value. Their research actually won an Ig Nobel Prize – an award handed out to honor achievements organizers consider unintentionally funny – but last year the company announced that their theory had finally become reality.

    It has long been known that chopping onions induces tears due to a volatile gas released by onion cells when damaged by the knife. Chilling an onion reduces the movement of its atoms, resulting in less syn-propanethial-S-oxide – the tear-inducing lachrymatory agent – being released when cut, but that only reduces the number of tears you shed. Chopping the Smile Ball onion in any conditions is reportedly a tear-free experience.

    Last year, House Foods Group revealed that it managed to suppress the production of syn-propanethial-S-oxide by bombarding onion bulbs with irradiating ions, which also made the vegetables less pungent. Full-grown Smile Ball onions release almost no tear-inducing compounds when chopped or eaten raw. Unlike regular onions, they are said to have a sweet taste reminiscent of apples or Asian nashi pears.

    About five tons of Smile Ball onions were sold in trial runs at Tokyo department stores and online shops this year, but come fall, they will be available at supermarkets across Japan, at a price of 450 yen (US$4.3) for a pack of two. That's twice as expensive as regular onions.

   Words to Learn 相关词汇

   假设

    jiǎshè

    hypothesize

    assume by hypothesis

    无意地

    wúyì de

    unintentionally

    not intentional or deliberate

    “微笑”洋葱 让你切洋葱时不再流泪

    切洋葱“催人泪下”的历史终于要结束啦！日本House食品集团株式会社即将推出世界上首个“无泪洋葱”。

    这种名叫“微笑洋葱”的新洋葱可谓名副其实，因为它不会让你流泪，只会令你微笑。研究者们花了二十多年才使其问世。2002年，House食品集团株式会社的科学家们发表了一篇文章，文章中提出一个假设，洋葱中催泪酶的功效可以被减弱，但其原有的口感和营养价值能被保留。这项研究获得了“搞笑诺贝尔奖”——这个奖是为了选出那些“无意之中达到搞笑效果”的研究。去年该食品集团宣布他们的理论已变成了现实。

    人们很早以前就知道，切洋葱时会熏到眼睛流泪，是因为被刀切到时洋葱细胞会释放出一种易挥发气体。将洋葱冷冻能减少洋葱原子的运动，从而减少顺式-丙硫醛-硫化物的释放，这种气体就是“催泪弹”——洋葱被切时就会释放。但是切冷冻洋葱只能减少流泪，切“微笑洋葱”，不管是冷冻还是常温，都能给你带来“无泪”体验。

    去年，House食品集团隆重宣布，他们用辐射离子照射洋葱，已经成功抑制了顺式-丙硫醛-硫化物的生成，还能减少洋葱的刺鼻气味。不管是在切洋葱时还是生吃时，成熟的“微笑洋葱”几乎不会产生催泪成分。与普通洋葱不同的是，它们据说还带一点苹果和亚洲沙梨的甜味。

    今年已有约五吨“微笑洋葱”在东京百货商店和网店试销，等到秋季时将会进入日本各地超市，一包两个的售价是450日元（合4.3美元），比普通洋葱贵了一倍。