Quick Tips

How to cook scallions

Green onions/scallions can be used raw or cooked. Scallions can be used in place of regular onions, and don’t take as long to soften. I like to sauté scallions as a base for soups and stir fry, or roasting alongside vegetables.

How to buy scallions

Look for scallions that have stiff, well-colored green tops and creamy, white bases. There should be no limpness, browning, or whites that look shriveled.

How to store scallions

If I’ll be using the scallions within a couple of days, I simply toss them in the crisper. If looking to keep the scallions up to a week, I place in a jar with water and cover with a plastic bag.

Varieties

Evergreen Hardy
Deep Purple
Parade
White Spear

About

If you head to the market in the spring, you’ll most likely see a myriad of onion types. There are scallions, which have the small white bulbs and crisp green tops. They might also be called green onions – same thing, just different name. You might also see spring onions in either white or purple. These are grown from a scallion variety that produce a bulb and are harvested a bit later.

The spring onion is akin to a mild version of storage onions, but the green tops pack a bigger punch than scallions. Scallions/green onions have an overall mild onion flavor and are one of the few alliums I eat raw.

Green onions make the perfect companion for other spring produce such as asparagus, spinach, and swiss chard. The light onion flavor doesn’t overpower the other delicate flavors found in spring produce. As a bonus, the greens also make an excellent garnish to soups, noodle bowls, and stir-fries.