# Green Onions help!



## CommMajor101 (Jan 18, 2006)

Hi everyone,
This may sound like a silly question to you experienced folks out there (which I most def. am not   hehehe) when you are chopping or cutting up green onions, what part goes into the food?  The white part at the end, the funny thingys at the end or the long green stems?  Eek!  Help!
Thanks in advance.


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## auntdot (Jan 18, 2006)

Actually you can use the whole thing.

The white part has the most onion flavor.  But the green part also has a delightful taste and gives a dish a nice color, particularly as a garnish.


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## jkath (Jan 18, 2006)

The whole thing, except the roots! hee hee

Yep - use thin slices of the white and a bit thicker of the green and your reicpe will be twice as nice.


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## CommMajor101 (Jan 18, 2006)

What part is the root?


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## texasgirl (Jan 18, 2006)

The hairy part that sticks out of the end of the white part. Just cut that off.


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## urmaniac13 (Jan 18, 2006)

CommMajor101 said:
			
		

> What part is the root?


at the bottom, the end of the fatter, white part there should be some "whiskers" growing out... that's the root, just cut off the very end of the white part, (imagining it is a tiny onion... as you cut off the bottom of it) then the rest is for your cooking!!


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## CommMajor101 (Jan 18, 2006)

*You guys rock!*

Ya'll r so helpful!  Thank you so much for all your helpful replies.  I really appreciate it.


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## jkath (Jan 18, 2006)

So, now that you know we all love the food chat...(and there's always at least a handful of us here 24/7) please make yourself comfy and know that we're happy you've joined DC!


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## Corinne (Jan 18, 2006)

Might I add - the best way to "chop" green onions (scallions) is to cut them with a pair of kitchen scissors. Start out by holding the top of the bunch tightly in your hand & snip off 1/4" or so slices. Simple!


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## pdswife (Jan 18, 2006)

That's how I do Corinne.  I love my kitchen scissors!  I use them to cut the fat off of bacon too.  It's so much easier.


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## GB (Jan 18, 2006)

Just like green onions, I use my kitchen scissors to cut chives.


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## daisy (Jan 19, 2006)

And you might find it easier to cut the while bulbous bit if you crush it with the flat of a knife first. 

Also, you know how you use the blade of a pair of scissors to make gift ribbon go curly? With a bit of practice, you can do the same with the green leafy parts of green onions (which in my part of the world are called shallots, BTW).  Makes a very pretty garnish.

These things are very closely related to chives. With chives, you usually use only the green parts (although the white bit is edible, as are the flowers) - again, chop them with scissors. 

If you buy them with the roots attached, the best way to store them is to plant them - just cover the roots. They'll keep growing, and they might end of flowering and going to seed - and you'll get more! Which is a good thing.


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## GB (Jan 19, 2006)

daisy said:
			
		

> Also, you know how you use the blade of a pair of scissors to make gift ribbon go curly? With a bit of practice, you can do the same with the green leafy parts of green onions


What a great idea! 





			
				daisy said:
			
		

> which in my part of the world are called shallots, BTW.


So do you have what we call shallots here (kind of a cross between an onion and garlic)?


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## Ishbel (Jan 19, 2006)

We call them spring onions - shallots are an onion with no leaves/stem. I belive the Irish call them scallions and an auld Scots name was 'syboes'.


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## daisy (Jan 20, 2006)

Yes, we also have the 'real' shallots here. They are sold as 'shallots' and are bought separately. We find them in amongst the other onions. The green onion/scallion/spring onion things are also sold as 'shallots' and come in bunches - we find them in amongst the salad veges. 

Most people who talk about 'shallots' are referring to the things that are somewhere between a leek and a chive - the green onion/scallion/spring onion things. If we want to distinguish between these and the 'real' ones we say something like 'you know, the ones that look like onions'. 

It sounds confusing, but in reality, not a lot of people use the 'ones that look like onions', so it isn't confusing at all - until I start talking about them to people on the other side of the world, in which case an explanation is necessary!


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## auntdot (Jan 20, 2006)

For years I was confused.

But what we have found is a shallot looks like a a garlic clove on steroids. They are about one and a half inches in length and are very tasty.

Scallioins are like chives on mega-steroids.  They have not much of a bulb, and you can eat the whole thing.  They have a delightful, fresh flavor. They are less than half and inch in diameter and have lower white and upper green parts.

Then there are my favorite, spring onions.  Only get those early in the spring, but they are fantastic. They look like big scallions, only they have a well developed bulb.  Yummm.

And then onions. Never met one I did not like.

Any recipe about here, except perhaps for flan, starts with take an onion....

At least that is my take on it.


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## mish (Jan 20, 2006)

And, the fun part is making green onion flowers.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=cookingschool&m=cookingschool/video_display&vid=65


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## Piccolina (Jan 22, 2006)

Ishbel said:
			
		

> We call them spring onions - shallots are an onion with no leaves/stem. I belive the Irish call them scallions and an auld Scots name was 'syboes'.


 Indeed Ish, I usually see them labled as scallions in the produce section here. To me though (aka, in my mind when I glance at them) they are always green onions. Some recipes also refer to them as spring onions. As we've touched on before, it never stops being interesting how many terms exist for the same thing in different parts of the world


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