The difference between shallots, green onions, scallions and spring onions
Depending on which Australian state you live in, the names of these common ingredients differ which can cause a lot of confusion.
These plants are all part of the allium family, which also includes onions and leeks. They’re so important for building flavour in your cooking, and you’ll find them in savoury recipes from around the globe.
We're here to clear up the differences between these cooking essentials and how they are used.
Shallots, eschalots or French shallots
Small onions with an elongated oval shape. They can be either golden brown or purple-pink. They grow in clusters like garlic, and have a mellow and sweet flavour rather than the pungent sharpness that onions have.
Well-known for its use in French cuisine. Also commonly used as a component in curry pastes or fried and used as a garnish in South East Asian cuisine.
Oval-shaped, clustered shallots are often easily confused with the more rounded pickling onion, which has a completely different flavour profile and texture. Learn more about onions here.
Recipes with shallots:
Green onions, green shallots, or scallions
Green onions have a long, delicate green stem that is white near the root. They have no bulb and a mild, sweet onion flavour.
Both white and green parts of the stem are usable in cooking. Remove and discard roots.
They’re perfect to eat raw in salads, as a garnish or cooked quickly in a stir fry.
Green onions are often sold and referred to as spring onions. Green onions and spring onions have a similar flavour that makes them mostly interchangable, though green onions are much smaller and have more tender green leaves.
The American term for green onions is scallions.
Recipes with green onions:
Spring onions
True spring onions look similar to green onions, but have a distinctive white bulb at the base.
The spring onion is an immature onion. It has a less pungent taste than a mature onion.
They can be eaten raw or cooked. Cooking over a low to medium heat develops their sweetness.
The green stems are fibrous and less suitable for culinary purposes. They can be used to make stock.
Recipes with green onions and shallots
Check out recipes below with green onions or shallots! Don't forget you can save them to your myfoodbook eCookbooks using your free account. Login to start saving, or if you don't have an account you can create an account here.
Green onion adds crunch and delicate flavour to the rice salad and as a garnish on the sticky glazed eggplant. A fantastic vegetarian meal!
GET THE RECIPE: Teriyaki Chicken Tacos with Sesame Nori by Street Kitchen
The fresh, delicate flavour of green onions is delicious inside these teriyaki tacos.
GET THE RECIPE: Satay Pork Vermicelli Rice Noodle Salad by Passage to Asia
When you finely slice green onions along their length, they naturally curl. This looks and tastes great in this fresh noodle salad.
