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Crying over onions could be a thing of the past with a new variety available that promises to be "tearless".
Key points:
- The new onion variety contains fewer of the volatile compounds that produce tears
- It was grown in SA but is currently only available in NSW, Victoria and the ACT
- Woolworths is testing the market to determine demand
Scientists have been working on the new variety since the 1980s.
They have crossbred existing onions that were naturally less irritating to create onions that have fewer of the enzymes or volatile compounds that cause tears and irritation, in particular, the sulphur-containing chemical syn-propanethial-S-oxide.
Woolworths Supermarkets' general manager of fruit and vegetables, Paul Turner, said those compounds in the new variety also continued to reduce after they were harvested, unlike in regular onions where they increased.
"So they're not as pungent, they don't irritate the eyes, but they still have the flavour of onions, just a bit sweeter," Mr Turner said.
"The cooking flavours are very much the same."
The new variety has been grown in South Australia, but the initial supplies will only be available at Woolworths in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT between July and September.
Tearless onions are also grown overseas, and Woolworths will test out the market to see how much demand there is for the product.
"It's one of those things where we think there's a problem there that we might be able to help solve for people," Mr Turner said.
"We'll find out what the demand is over the next few months because we've got a very small crop … so we're testing the customer feedback on that and the customer uptake."
The tearless onions will be sold in 500g packages for $5, while standard brown onions sell online for $2-$3.20 per kg, depending on packaging.
Farm trials to pick optimum timing
The onions have been grown by Dolling Produce in South Australia's south east for the last four years.
Farm manager Jarryd Dolling said the yield and agronomic requirements were similar to other brown onions, but due to their premium nature, he said they needed to be handled with a bit more care.
"We've been trying to find the best time slot to sow the onions. They all have their very specific time slot. If you go too early, they go to seed. If you go too late, you don't end up with the yield," Mr Dolling said."
"We've been working with Nunhems [the seed breeder] for the last four years, and I think we've finally got it."
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