Ever tried to cut up some onions and ended up in tears? Gone are those days thanks to Sunion, the first tearless onion now for sale in Canada.
BASF, a German multinational corporation and the world’s largest chemical producer, worked on the tearless bulb for more than three decades through conventional breeding efforts. This means that the onion was not genetically modified but instead created as a result of a completely natural cross-breeding program. BASF sells the onion seeds to farmers, who ultimately produce and sell the bulbs to consumers.
Bilgehan Suer, the project leader for Sunions Europe, spoke in another interview with the National Post that tearless onions are an example of the company’s desire to make healthy eating fun.
But does it really work? The Sensory Lab of BASF’s vegetable seeds business and Ohio State University both verified it as tearless. According to their website, “Sunions are consistently mild and crunchy and follow a tightly-controlled brand promise that must certify them both tearless and sweet.”
Besides being one-of-a-kind due to its sweetness and non-tearing qualities, this onion has another intriguing feature: it changes flavour over time. Because of the genetics of the Sunion, it grows milder and sweeter when stored.
The Sunion has been on sale in Europe and the U.S. for several months and is coming to Canada in 2022. The next countries to be considered for Sunions will be determined by customer interest and supplier choices in the area.
