‘Tearless’ onions: the ingredient chefs have been crying out for is coming soon

Whether wearing goggles or sucking a teaspoon, many of us go to great lengths to avoid crying when chopping onions.

But soon cooks may be weeping for joy instead, as a new "tearless" onion variety is to be sold on supermarket shelves in Britain for the first time.

"Sunions" will be available in Waitrose, which will announced they will be stocking the variety in approximately 100 of its shops. Customers will be able to purchase a pack of three for £1.50 in store or online from January 18 onwards.

Chefs have indicated they are willing to stock their kitchens with Sunions to give their brigades some light relief as they chop and dice their way through kilos of the vegetable at a time.

The more pungent an onion, the more it can irritate the eyes.

The higher an onion ranks on the pyruvate scale - a measure of pungency for onions and garlic - the greater the associated levels of lachrymatory-factor synthase, the chemical compound which is released into the air and irritates the eyes during chopping. 

Development for Sunions began 35 years ago in the United States, with scientists attempting to produce a “sweeter” and more “subtle” variety of onion with less pungency.

Through extensive cross-breeding with other varieties, plant breeders at the US branch of chemical company Baden Aniline and Soda Factory (BASF) have managed to produce the tearless strain.

Jeff Boettge, head of Crop Marketing & Strategy Biennials at BASF, explained: “You take this onion strain and you self it, or you breed it to itself, you self-pollinate it; and then you start to create a more homogeneous strain of onion.”

Exclusive contract with Waitrose

Although the product has been available for purchase in the US since 2018, it has not been available for purchase in the UK until now.

Lincolnshire-based supplier The Oldershaw Group is the only company supplying Britain with Sunions after signing an exclusive contract with Waitrose for one year.

Robert Oldershaw, the company’s director, told The Telegraph: “It’s something quite different, I think the onion category is probably never looked upon as being the most innovative or exciting part of the fruit and veg section in the supermarket.

“So anything that we can bring to the shelves within the category is always good news.”

'Great for young chefs'

Meanwhile, Jack Stein, executive chef of the critically-acclaimed Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, and son of Rick Stein, said the onion’s tearless properties would be sorely welcomed by young chefs.

He said: “A lot of food has come about this way, trying to breed our certain characteristics and then you find something which is a benefit.

“You always feel for chefs, the worst is when you see young chefs, with not the sharpest knives, who are crying at the back of the kitchen. I think it’s a great idea.

“There are several hundreds of hours I have spent crying at the back of a kitchen that would never have happened if it was around”. 

Paul Bidwell, Onion Buyer at Waitrose, commented: “We understand how a-peeling [sic] tearless onions are to our customers which is why we’re delighted to launch Sunions in selected stores and via Waitrose.com from 18th January.

“Ideal for taking the tears out of the kitchen, the sweetness of this type of onion lends itself perfectly to a variety of dishes, from salads to hot meals.”