Farmer Creates the Tear-Free Onion
(Photo: Thinkstock)
After 20 years of work, farmers in Bedfordshire, England, say they’ve finally hacked the onion.
A new variety called Sweet Red promises both no tears when you’re chopping and no oniony bad breath after you’ve eaten them. Sounds like a winner to us.
The catch is that Sweet Reds have less of the strong, pungent flavor, too, because they’ve been bred to contain less sulphur, which is the source of both the tears and much of the taste.
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The U.K. supermarket chain Asda, which bought 40 tons of the new variety for its stores, tries to put a positive spin on the result.
“The new bulb also boasts a milder, juicier and crunchier flavor,” the retailer says in a statement. Sweet Reds started appearing on Asda shelves last weekend at about $1.50 each.
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"They don’t harbor any bitterness that is sometimes associated with extremely pungent red onions," the company says.
The Sweet Red’s creator, Bedfordshire farmer Alastair Findlay, says he’s spent two decades breeding the perfect bulb, tasting and adjusting his crop each season to get it right.
He says he’s already working on refining his creation even further.
“There are so many interesting flavors just waiting to be discovered.”
There are, of course, many types of onions out there, each with its distinct taste and use. If you don’t want to wait for Sweet Reds to hit your local grocery store, you can always pick up a pair of onion goggles.
(They won’t do much for your breath, though.)
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