Onions may be one of the healthiest, most flavorful vegetables on the face of the Earth, but they’re definitely no fun to chop. However, 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.洋葱或许是世界上最身体健康鲜美的蔬菜了，但是托洋葱可不是什么冷笑话的活。然而，托洋葱“催人泪下”的历史再一要完结啦！因为日本House食品集团株式会社将要发售世界上首个“无泪洋葱”。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. Although the announcement mentioned that House Foods Group had no intention of producing Smile Ball onions commercially anytime soon, it appears the wonder vegetables will hit Japanese stores this fall.这种名为“微笑洋葱”的新洋葱堪称名副其实，因为它会让你流泪，反而能令你微笑。

研究者们花上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公开发表了一篇文章，文章中明确提出一个假设，洋葱中催泪酶的功效可以被弱化，但其原先的口感和营养价值能被保有。

这项研究取得了“无厘头诺贝尔奖”——这个奖是为了投票决定那些“无意之中超过无厘头效果”的研究。去年该食品集团宣告他们的理论已变为了现实。尽管当时该集团称之为会在短期内商业化生产“微笑洋葱”，但是这种无法解释洋葱未来将会在今年秋季转入日本商店。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.人们很早以前就告诉，托洋葱时会粪到眼睛流泪，是因为被刀切到时洋葱细胞不会释放出来一种易挥发气体。

将洋葱冷藏能增加洋葱原子的运动，从而增加反式-丙硫醛-硫化物的获释，这种气体就是“催泪弹”——洋葱被切时就不会获释。但是托冷藏洋葱不能增加流泪，托“微笑洋葱”，不管是冷藏还是常温，都能给你带给“无泪”体验。

Last year, when it made its big announcement, 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.去年，House食品集团庆典宣告，他们用电磁辐射离子太阳光洋葱，早已顺利诱导了反式-丙硫醛-硫化物的分解，还能增加洋葱的难闻气味。不管是在托洋葱时还是生子不吃时，成熟期的“微笑洋葱”完全会产生催泪成分。与普通洋葱有所不同的是，它们据传还带上一点苹果和亚洲沙梨的甜味。

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 nationwide, at a price of 450 yen ($4.30) for a pack of two. That’s twice as expensive as regular onions.今年有数大约五吨“微笑洋葱”在东京百货商店和网店试销，等到秋季时将不会转入日本各地餐馆，一包两个的售价是450日元（合4.3美元），比普通洋葱喜了一倍的价钱。The rate at which the trial batch of 5-6 tons of Smile Ball onions sold out signals that they will be a huge hit when they hit the market, but skeptics worry that they will have the same fate as apples, which many say have lost most of their original flavor after years of selective breeding.这批五六吨的“微笑洋葱”被抢购一空的速度，伴随着它未来在市场的巨大成功，但是有怀疑论者担忧新型洋葱会步苹果的后尘——苹果曾多次经历了数年的选择性培育，以至于失去了原先的风味。

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