Aussie grower creates tearless onion variety after decades of propagation trials

An Australian grower has hit the jackpot with a new and tearless variety of onion that will change the way we cook.

Aussies will no longer have to break out their goggles or revert to weird hacks to stop the tears flowing when they chop onions.

The trick lies in a new onion variety grown in South Australia – Tearless Onions.

The new vegetable was developed over decades using natural methods, including crossbreeding existing onion varieties.

South Australian-grown Happy Chop tearless onions will now be available exclusively at Woolworths. Picture: Supplied

As a natural self-defence mechanism, onions release a combination of natural chemicals and enzymes, also known as volatile compounds, that can cause tears and irritation when an onion is damaged or cut.

Happy Chop Tearless Onions contain fewer of these compounds which continue to reduce after they are harvested, compared to regular onions where these compounds increase over time. This means they become more tearless over time.

Woolworths Supermarkets’ General Manager Fruit & Veg, Paul Turner said: “We’re excited to bring this incredible variety to our customers to take the tears out of meal prep.

“I’ve heard all sorts of stories about how people avoid tears when cutting onions – whether that’s wearing glasses, freezing onions or wearing a mask.

Woolworths Supermarkets’ Paul Turner is cooking with tearless onions, a new vegetable available in store. Picture: Supplied

“I’ve worked with all varieties of fruit and veg and these onions are truly unique. I know so many people who cry with onions so this really is a game changer for people cooking at home.

“It‘s also fantastic to bring another Aussie grown product to the market and we’re excited to see how our customers respond to them.”

Despite them being less pungent, the Tearless Onions retain a great onion flavour and are slightly sweeter than regular brown onions. They can be enjoyed raw or cooked.

While the new variety is grown in South Australia, initial supplies will only be available at Woolworths in NSW, Victoria and the ACT between July to September.

A Woolworths spokesman said trialling Happy Chop initially in these states would provide the organisation with more robust data to understand how different customers will respond to the product in future.

“Onion seeds can take time to grow and since this is the first crop in Australia, there is a limited supply for our initial trial of the product,” the spokesman said.

“As production expands we will look to bring Happy Chop to more states, including South Australia, in the coming year.”

Originally published as Aussie grower creates tearless onion variety after decades of propagation trials