How to Cut Green Onions?

Green onions, also known as scallions, bring a burst of flavor to various dishes. Rich in taste and versatility, they serve as a vibrant addition to culinary creations. Notably economical, green onions are a valuable ingredient that enhances the overall taste experience without compromising your budget.

These greens complement the salads and soups. Using thinly sliced green onions as finishing touches to foods like omelets, potato salads, dips, and fish is a favorite for many. The use of green onions goes a long way, and it’s accessible for many as they are ready to harvest in less than 90 days. You’ll find plenty of them in grocery stores, whether labeled as green onions or scallions.

While you won’t sweat finding them, knowing how to cut a bunch of green onions correctly can give your recipes a better look and taste. This article will teach you how to cut green onions and ways to utilize a chef’s knife to chop and mince them quickly.

Edible parts of green onions

Aside from the root, the whole green onion is edible. However, the two different parts (green and white) have different tastes. The white part of the green onion is similar to regular onions with a strong flavor and smell, and the green leafy parts are more mellow. 

Preparing green onions

You’ll only want to use the best parts of the green onion. Some preparation and trimming are required before getting to chop green onions.

Firstly, rinse the green onions using tap water and get rid of any dirt. You’ll then want to remove the damaged parts and slimy skins with your hands. There is no need to use a knife to clean up green onions as they are very fragile, and any unwanted part will come off effortlessly. After cleaning up the green onions, trim the roots by cutting about half an inch over them. 

Bonus tip: You can use the roots to regrow green onions in your garden. Simply put the roots in fresh water and let them grow. After the roots reach about five inches, plant them in the soil. 

Different ways to cut green onions

The long, lengthy shape of green onions opens up many possibilities to use different cutting styles. You can transform them into different shapes. Here are various ways to cut green onions. 

Circular cuts

The most straightforward way to cut green onions is to transform them into circular cuts. It’s an easy and time-effective way to use green onions right away in a salad, soup, or any other food you’re preparing. 

Though simple, circular cuts are also versatile, you can cut the green onions at any length desired. Small pieces for noodles, long pieces for chicken and meats. Here is how to transform green onions into circular cuts.

1. Place the green onions on the cutting board and hold them steady with your non-dominant hand.
2. Use the blade’s heel (closest part to the handle) and make straight, cylinder-shaped cuts at the desired length.
3. Use rocking motions to make everything faster. 

You now have perfectly chopped green onions, which are perfect to use in sandwiches along with other greens. 

Bias cuts

Bias cuts refer to cutting foods at a 45-degree angle so that you’ll have diagonal pieces. It’s similar to circular cuts but looks different due to the angle. Therefore, it’s more of a decorative cut and not much different than circular cuts in terms of use. Here is how to bias cut green onions.

1. Take a few green onions and place your knife perpendicular to the green onions.
2. Start cutting while maintaining the same angle throughout the green onions.
3. As managing the same angle throughout the cutting process is crucial to bias cuts, you might want to fix the position of the knife and move the green onions to the knife’s edge instead of moving the blade.

Since this cut is mainly used for enriching the look and decorating the foods, take your time to perfect each piece.

Mincing

Mincing green onions is a great way to cut them if you plan to use the greens in soups, omelets, or potato salads. It’s also an excellent way to practice your mincing skills as green onions are very easy to handle. The minced green onions are also a fantastic topping choice to finish plating.

Here is how to mince green onions.

1. Cut the green onions into smaller pieces. 
2. Place the tip of the knife on the cutting board.
3. Rock the blade over the green onions until small enough. 

Make sure you’re doing these with a sharp knife, not only to avoid crushing the green onions rather than mincing but to ensure your safety.

Shredding

Shredded green onions are also versatile. However, transforming relatively thick green onions into skinny long slices takes more work than the above cuts. Although shredding green onions will need more doing, it’s not necessarily a hard cut. Here is how to shred green onions using a chef’s knife.

1. Slice green onions at length you want the shreds to be. 
2. Place the green onions vertically and cut them into long strips.
3. Do this repeatedly until you get to the desired thickness. 

An excellent way to use shredded green onions is to top off noodles and soups.

How to store green onions?

After chopping some green onions, there is a chance that you’ll have extra leftover pieces. Rather than throwing them into the garbage, store them for later use. 

Since green onions have a strong smell, you’ll want to store them in a sealed container like plastic bags, but make sure they are dry before you get to that. Additionally, wrapping green onions in a paper towel before storing them in the fridge helps keep them fresh for longer.

How to identify fresh green onions?

By the time you’re reading this article, there is a chance that you’ve already bought green onions, but here are a few tips on how to select the best green onions at your local store.

• Choose green onions with green tops that aren’t too light in color.
• Pick the bundles with solid white bulbs with the roots attached. 
• They should always have a strong, fresh smell and look lively.

Green onions mostly come in preweighed bundles, so it won’t be like picking bananas or apples. You might see a few undesirable green onions here and there, but always choose the bunches that have the freshest green onions. If there are a few unwanted ones, don’t mind them.

Differences between green onions and chives

Though both veggies look similar, they are different. Chives are a lot slimmer than scallions and greener in color. You can easily differentiate chives from green onions to see if there are any white parts. Because chives don’t have any, you’ll quickly know which one is which. 

You can also use green onions and chives as a substitute for each other. Other greens to substitute scallions include leeks, shallots, green garlic, yellow onions, and ramps. 

Tips on cooking green onions

Although green onions can be eaten raw, you can also cook them. Avoid overdoing it and cook green onions the same way you would cook similar veggies like leeks. 

If you’re frying green onions on a pan with meats, fry until the main ingredient is cooked, but avoid overcooking. For baking, 20 to 25 minutes at 425 F is generally the maximum. When overcooked, green onions lose their taste and won’t add flavor to the foods the way you would want them to. Additionally, how you’ve cut the green onions also matter. The larger the cuts, the longer the green onions will take to cook, and vice versa. 

With so many antioxidants and vitamins, green onions add a lot of extra nutrition to foods. Add them to top off meals and get the kick it gives to every bite. Fantastic greens like these deserve the best knives. Check out our handmade kitchen knives to chop through everything you’ll need.