Scallions and Spring onions are leafy vegetables belonging to the bulb-forming, onion family (Amaryllidaceae). Prominent members of onion family include common onions, shallots, leek, and garlic. Synonyms of these leafy vegetables are salad onions, and green onions. These plants are cool season, herbaceous, biennial plants. For vegetable purposes, they are grown as annuals.
Major Difference: Scallions are harvested before they form a well-developed bulb; in other words, scallions do not have a bulb at the base. Spring onions are harvested when they form small bulbs, normally red or white in colour. They are more mature plants than scallions. Hence spring onions have more intense flavour than the scallions. Scallions have mild flavour and texture as compared to that of scallions.
Varieties/Cultivars: Tender greens of different members of onion family are marketed as ‘scallions’ and ‘spring onions’. A detailed account of various cultivars, tender leaves of which, are used as scallions and spring onions is given below:
- Tender greens and young plants of common onions (Allium cepa var. cepa) may be used as ‘scallions or spring onions’; in the case of scallions, tender greens are harvested before bulb-formation
- Tender greens and young plants of shallots (Allium cepa var. aggregatum) may be used as ‘scallions or spring onions’
- Young plants of Allium chinense may also be used as ‘scallions or spring onions’
- Tender greens of Welsh onions (Allium fistulosum) may also be known as ‘scallions or spring onions’
- Another cultivar grown as ‘scallions or spring onions’ are Allium proliferum
Plant Description: Scallions and spring onions are tender, herbaceous plants grown as annuals. These are cool season plants as all members of onion family. Scallions do not have a fully developed bulb while spring onions have a small bulb at the base. They have long, hollow, tubular green leaves. Leaves grow directly from the bulb.
Food Uses: Scallions and spring onions are cooked as a leafy vegetable as stir-fries and curries. These leaves are eaten raw as salads; chopped leaves are added into salads and in various potato dishes such as baked potatoes and mashed potatoes.
Chopped leaves are added as an ingredient in many food preparations such as noodles, sandwiches, soups, and also in various egg, fish and meat preparations. Finely chopped leaves are used as flavouring and garnishing agent.
Nutrition in Scallions and Spring Onions: According to USDA, scallions and spring onions (also called ‘green onions’) are a powerhouse of nutrients. Recent scientific research conducted regarding the nutrient density in plant-based foods reveals that scallions and spring onions are among the top 50 nutrient-dense, plant-based foods available to us today.
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