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No matter how much formal training you have, or how developed your palate is, there are a few culinary equalizers out there that keep novices and professional chefs alike level on the playing field. One age-old example has to do with a cornerstone of countless cuisines: onions -- they make you cry.

But do they have to? According to RocketNews 24, Japanese researchers have spent the past 20 years developing a weep-free onion. Adorably called the Smile Ball, the onion is said to be stripped of the sulfuric gas normal onions release upon being sliced or crushed open (which causes our eyes to tear up).

Eaten raw, Smile Balls contain a similar sweetness to Asian pears, or apples, which is giving me major flashbacks to that scene in Holes where Stanley and Zero start munching on onions picked straight out of the ground.

And if its popularity in grocery stores shows anything, it’s that the Smile Balls aren’t a gimmick. RocketNews 24 reports that nearly five tons of the bulbous root sold out almost immediately when put up for a trial run in department stores and online shops in Tokyo.

Though there is no specific start date for when the Smile Ball will be available in U.S. stories, the onions are said to cost around $4.30 for a pair -- approximately double the cost of your standard set of onions.

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No matter how much formal training you have, or how developed your palate is, there are a few culinary equalizers out there that keep novices and professional chefs alike level on the playing field. One age-old example has to do with a cornerstone of countless cuisines: onions -- they make you cry.

But do they have to? According to RocketNews 24, Japanese researchers have spent the past 20 years developing a weep-free onion. Adorably called the Smile Ball, the onion is said to be stripped of the sulfuric gas normal onions release upon being sliced or crushed open (which causes our eyes to tear up).

Eaten raw, Smile Balls contain a similar sweetness to Asian pears, or apples, which is giving me major flashbacks to that scene in Holes where Stanley and Zero start munching on onions picked straight out of the ground.

And if its popularity in grocery stores shows anything, it’s that the Smile Balls aren’t a gimmick. RocketNews 24 reports that nearly five tons of the bulbous root sold out almost immediately when put up for a trial run in department stores and online shops in Tokyo.

Though there is no specific start date for when the Smile Ball will be available in U.S. stories, the onions are said to cost around $4.30 for a pair -- approximately double the cost of your standard set of onions.

Could It Be? Japan Has Created An Onion That Won't Make You Cry

No matter how much formal training you have, or how developed your palate is, there are a few culinary equalizers out there that keep novices and professional chefs alike level on the playing field. One age-old example has to do with a cornerstone of countless cuisines: onions -- they make you cry.

But do they have to? According to RocketNews 24, Japanese researchers have spent the past 20 years developing a weep-free onion. Adorably called the Smile Ball, the onion is said to be stripped of the sulfuric gas normal onions release upon being sliced or crushed open (which causes our eyes to tear up).

Eaten raw, Smile Balls contain a similar sweetness to Asian pears, or apples, which is giving me major flashbacks to that scene in Holes where Stanley and Zero start munching on onions picked straight out of the ground.

And if its popularity in grocery stores shows anything, it’s that the Smile Balls aren’t a gimmick. RocketNews 24 reports that nearly five tons of the bulbous root sold out almost immediately when put up for a trial run in department stores and online shops in Tokyo.

Though there is no specific start date for when the Smile Ball will be available in U.S. stories, the onions are said to cost around $4.30 for a pair -- approximately double the cost of your standard set of onions.