日本研發(fā)出“微笑”洋蔥 讓你切洋蔥時(shí)不再流淚

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.

洋蔥也許是世界上最健康可口的蔬菜了，但是切洋蔥可不是什么好玩的活。然而，切洋蔥“催人淚下”的歷史終于要結(jié)束啦!因?yàn)槿毡綡ouse食品集團(tuán)株式會(huì)社即將推出世界上首個(gè)“無(wú)淚洋蔥”。

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.

這種名叫“微笑洋蔥”的新洋蔥可謂名副其實(shí)，因?yàn)樗粫?huì)讓你流淚，反而能令你微笑。研究者們花了二十多年才使其問(wèn)世。2002年，House食品集團(tuán)株式會(huì)社的科學(xué)家們發(fā)表了一篇文章，文章中提出一個(gè)假設(shè)，洋蔥中催淚酶的功效可以被減弱，但其原有的口感和營(yíng)養(yǎng)價(jià)值能被保留。這項(xiàng)研究獲得了“搞笑諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)”——這個(gè)獎(jiǎng)是為了選出那些“無(wú)意之中達(dá)到搞笑效果”的研究。去年該食品集團(tuán)宣布他們的理論已變成了現(xiàn)實(shí)。盡管當(dāng)時(shí)該集團(tuán)稱不會(huì)在短期內(nèi)商業(yè)化生產(chǎn)“微笑洋蔥”，但是這種奇異洋蔥有望在今年秋季進(jìn)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.

人們很早以前就知道，切洋蔥時(shí)會(huì)熏到眼睛流淚，是因?yàn)楸坏肚械綍r(shí)洋蔥細(xì)胞會(huì)釋放出一種易揮發(fā)氣體。將洋蔥冷凍能減少洋蔥原子的運(yùn)動(dòng)，從而減少順式-丙硫醛-硫化物的釋放，這種氣體就是“催淚彈”——洋蔥被切時(shí)就會(huì)釋放。但是切冷凍洋蔥只能減少流淚，切“微笑洋蔥”，不管是冷凍還是常溫，都能給你帶來(lái)“無(wú)淚”體驗(yàn)。

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食品集團(tuán)隆重宣布，他們用輻射離子照射洋蔥，已經(jīng)成功抑制了順式-丙硫醛-硫化物的生成，還能減少洋蔥的刺鼻氣味。不管是在切洋蔥時(shí)還是生吃時(shí)，成熟的“微笑洋蔥”幾乎不會(huì)產(chǎn)生催淚成分。與普通洋蔥不同的是，它們據(jù)說(shuō)還帶一點(diǎn)蘋(píng)果和亞洲沙梨的甜味。

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.

今年已有約五噸“微笑洋蔥”在東京百貨商店和網(wǎng)店試銷(xiāo)，等到秋季時(shí)將會(huì)進(jìn)入日本各地超市，一包兩個(gè)的售價(jià)是450日元(合4.3美元)，比普通洋蔥貴了一倍的價(jià)錢(qián)。

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.

這批五六噸的“微笑洋蔥”被搶購(gòu)一空的速度，預(yù)示著它未來(lái)在市場(chǎng)的巨大成功，但是有懷疑論者擔(dān)心新型洋蔥會(huì)步蘋(píng)果的后塵——蘋(píng)果曾經(jīng)經(jīng)歷了數(shù)年的選擇性培育，以至于喪失了原有的風(fēng)味。