WA customers can now take the tears out of cooking as Woolworths partners with a local grower to launch a unique variety of onion.
Grown by Myalup-based vegetable grower LJM Produce, Happy Chop tearless onions have hit Woolworths supermarkets across WA following a successful trial in NSW and Victoria last year.
The product also launched in Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Northern Territory last month.
LJM Produce farm manager Jamie Maiolo said the onions were a special variety that offered customers a sweeter taste.
“It’s a bit of a novelty product, it’s not going to be for everyone but there’s going to be certain consumers that will like to give it a go and will like the product not being able to bring tears to your eyes when you cut it,” he said.
Woolworths supermarkets fruit and vegetable general manager Paul Turner said the product could be enjoyed raw in a salad or cooked in a casserole or soup.
“Bringing tearless onions to WA completes the national journey of this product for us after seeing so much excitement when we introduced them last year,” he said.
“We’re committed to supporting local farmers and growers and always look to source our fruit and veg from across WA in the first instance, so it’s fantastic that we’ve been able to partner with a local grower to source this unique variety in WA for the first time.”
As a natural self-defence mechanism, onions release a combination of natural chemicals and enzymes that can cause tears and irritation when damaged or cut.
Happy Chop onions contain fewer of these compounds and were developed over several decades using natural methods, including cross-breeding existing onion varieties.