So, we skipped over a few crops in the hustle and bustle of the late season preservations, but that doesn’t mean they’re less important to us! Let’s talk about green onions! We have some different practices than many growers, so let’s dive into that!
To start, there can be a bit of confusion between green onions, scallions and spring onions. Green onions aren’t a specific cultivar, it just describes an onion harvested before bulbing occurs. Whereas scallions and spring onions tend to be more specific cultivars, with spring onions tending to develop a small bulb. Regardless, all of these can be used interchangeably with little actual difference between them.
Many non-gardener’s experience with this crop are the rather small 1/4 inch onions, typically sold by the bunch at the grocer. For this reason, many gardeners assume that green onions “must” be harvested when young, such that they look like the store bought versions. Many perform succession plantings, to further support this, but might not know why. This isn’t just about a physical aesthetic.
What’s really going on here deals with Sulphur compounds, which is what gives all onions their distinct and spicy taste. Younger green onion plants have lower amounts of these sulphur compounds, whereas more mature green onions increase in sulphur compounds. Essentially, this means younger green onions tend to be milder, whereas more mature ones are more “oniony.”
But, it’s not like these green onions will suddenly molt into something non-edible or otherwise unusable if these onions are allowed to mature more fully. They just become larger, almost taking on a leek-like appearance, and become a bit more flavorful at full maturity. We find this larger plant form more ideal from a preservation perspective, since we’re often able to achieve much higher quantities from fewer plants.
We certainly do harvest some of our green onions in and around that supposed “ideal size,” but only when and as much as we need them. We continue to grow them through the season, harvesting here and there, as we need them for dishes. At the end of the season, any remaining green onions are processed for preservation purposes. Treating our green onions this way greatly simplifies our growing process as we just have a single sowing and no complexities of succession planting.
We often split our green onion preservations, with some allocated to dehydration. Green onion powder is a great and unique garden ingredient that can be used like any onion powder. It can also be used to make things like green onion salt, green onion chips or other unique spice mixes. They can also be added dry to dishes or rehydrated for various reasons.
The remainder of our green onion harvest is frozen. We opt to not blanch these first, mostly to retain the fresh-like textures and subtle fresh flavors. Often, these frozen green onions become a base for stir fries, soups, stews or other dishes. We’ll often combine them with normal onions, just to offer a bit more flavor complexity. These can also be sprinkled as a topper, just like fresh, and will typically thaw by serving time.
Some might overlook the value that preserved green onions can provide the garden cook. Just because something isn’t commonly available commercially doesn’t mean the grower has no reason to craft it.
