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.
洋葱也许是世界上最健康可口的蔬菜了，但是切洋葱可不是什么好玩的活。然而，切洋葱“催人泪下”的历史终于要结束啦！因为日本House食品集团株式会社即将推出世界上首个“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.
这种名叫“微笑洋葱”的新洋葱可谓名副其实，因为它不会让你流泪，反而能令你微笑。研究者们花了二十多年才使其问世。2002年，House食品集团株式 会社的科学家们发表了一篇文章，文章中提出一个假设，洋葱中催泪酶的功效可以被减弱，但其原有的口感和营养价值能被保留。这项研究获得了“搞笑诺贝尔奖” ——这个奖是为了选出那些“无意之中达到搞笑效果”的研究。去年该食品集团宣布他们的理论已变成了现实。尽管当时该集团称不会在短期内商业化生产“微笑洋 葱”，但是这种奇异洋葱有望在今年秋季进入日本商店。
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.
人们很早以前就知道，切洋葱时会熏到眼睛流泪，是因为被刀切到时洋葱细胞会释放出一种易挥发气体。将洋葱冷冻能减少洋葱原子的运动，从而减少顺式-丙硫醛 -硫化物的释放，这种气体就是“催泪弹”——洋葱被切时就会释放。但是切冷冻洋葱只能减少流泪，切“微笑洋葱”，不管是冷冻还是常温，都能给你带来“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食品集团隆重宣布，他们用辐射离子照射洋葱，已经成功抑制了顺式-丙硫醛-硫化物的生成，还能减少洋葱的刺鼻气味。不管是在切洋葱时还是生吃时，成熟的“微笑洋葱”几乎不会产生催泪成分。与普通洋葱不同的是，它们据说还带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.
今年已有约五吨“微笑洋葱”在东京百货商店和网店试销，等到秋季时将会进入日本各地超市，一包两个的售价是450日元（合4.3美元），比普通洋葱贵了一倍的价钱。
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，预示着它未来在市场的巨大成功，但是有怀疑论者担心新型洋葱会步苹果的后尘——苹果曾经经历了数年的选择性培育，以至于丧失了原有的风味。