Scallion
| Scallion | |
|---|---|
| |
| Fresh scallions tied into bundles | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Amaryllidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Allioideae |
| Tribe: | Allieae |
| Genus: | Allium |
| Species | |
|
various, see text | |
Scallions – also known as green onions, spring onions, salad onions, green shallots, onion sticks, long onions, baby onions, precious onions, yard onions, gibbons, or syboes – are the edible plants of various Allium species, all of which are "onion-like", having hollow green leaves and lacking a fully developed root bulb.
Etymology
The words scallion and shallot are related and can be traced back to the Greek askolonion as described by the Greek writer Theophrastus. This name, in turn, seems to originate from the name of the town of Ashkelon. The shallots themselves apparently came from farther east of Europe.[1]
Types
The Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum) does not form bulbs even when mature, and is grown in the West almost exclusively as a scallion or salad onion, although in Asia this species is of primary importance and used both fresh and in cooking.[2] "Scallion" is also used for young plants of the common onion (A. cepa var. cepa) and shallot (A. cepa var. aggregatum, formerly A. ascalonicum), harvested before bulbs form, or sometimes when slight bulbing has occurred. Most of the cultivars grown in the West primarily as salad onions or scallions belong to A. cepa var. cepa.[3] Other species sometimes used as scallions include A. ×proliferum and A. ×wakegi.[4]
Uses
Harvested for their taste, they are milder than most onions. They may be cooked or used raw as a part of salads or Asian recipes. Diced scallions are used in soup, noodle and seafood dishes, as well as sandwiches, curries or as part of a stir fry. To make many Eastern sauces, the bottom quarter-inch of scallions is commonly removed before use. Cut at root level.
In Vietnam, Welsh onion is important to cook dưa hành which is served for Tết, the Vietnamese New Year. A kind of sauce, mỡ hành (Welsh onion fried in oil), is used in dishes such as cơm tấm, bánh ít, cà tím nướng and others. Welsh onion is the only ingredient in the dish cháo hành, which is a dish to treat the common cold.
Varieties
- Allium cepa
- White Lisbon
- White Lisbon Winter Hardy - an extra-hardy variety for overwintering.
- Calçot
- White Lisbon
- Allium fistulosum
- Allium ×wakegi
- Allium chinense
See also
References
- Notes
- ^ Allium Crop Science: recent advances at Google Books, last retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ Fritsch, R.M. (2002). "Chapter 1: Evoluion, Domestication, and Taxonomy". In H.D. Rabinowitch and L. Currah (ed.). Allium Crop Science: Recent Advances. Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 0-85199-510-1.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Fritsch, R.M. (2002). "Chapter 1: Evoluion, Domestication, and Taxonomy". In H.D. Rabinowitch and L. Currah (ed.). Allium Crop Science: Recent Advances. Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 0-85199-510-1.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Brewster, James L. (1994). Onions and other vegetable alliums (1st ed.). Wallingford, UK: CAB International. p. 15. ISBN 0-85198-753-2.
External links
| Onion cultivars | |||
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| Onion species | |||
| Onion food | |||
| Garlic cultivars | |||
| Garlic species |
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| Garlic food | |||
| Garlic and onion constituents | |||
| Related |
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