Onions vs. Green Onions, Scallions, Spring Onions or Bunching Onions, Explained

By Erin Marissa Russell

If you ’ve done any reading on onions , it ’s evident that people are quite confused about the differences and partitioning between bulb onion versus green onion , scallions , natural spring onions , bunching onions , and all the other terms for various Allium , genus genus Allium . There are a circumstances of onion types to keep up with . And even bad , there ’s a lot of misnaming going on , which makes it even more confusing .

For example , it ’s a common misconception that “ scallion , ” “ spring onion , ” “ immature onion , ” and all the names for those little onion plant with long light-green shoot on top but refer to regular old electric-light bulb onions or garden onions reap early , when they ’re still small , sweet , and have n’t yet formed pregnant bulb . Another common yet inaccurate belief is that scallion , spring onions , and dark-green onion are all names for the same works .

types of onions freshly harvested

Evenshallotsget pulled into the conversation sometimes . To be clear , shallots are an entirely unlike vegetable and a relation of the onion family . In terms of flavor shallots are somewhere between onions and Allium sativum .

An clause in theIllinois times pointsout that though green onion and shallots are different , “ the definition of ‘ Allium porrum ’ in some non - culinary lexicon is ‘ shallot . ’ This misnomer probably occurs because ‘ échalion ’ is another name for the Allium ascalonicum , derive from the Gallic ‘ échalote . ’ ” The Latin botanical name for shallots is Allium cepa gr . aggregatum , though they used to be categorise as Allium ascalonicum and are sometimes still referred to by this name .

Chivesare another part of the allium category that gets mixed up with some of the onion types fairly frequently . Sometimes , people think that green onions , scallions , give onion , and chives are all the same thing — or they may have a few of these terms put off with one another . Chives are the small of the onions , with the Romance botanic name Allium schoenoprasum . These have hollow unripe stems that resemble the green top of the inning of scallions or green Allium cepa , just in miniature .

red onions

You ’re probably used to seeing the unripened part of fresh chives mixed into sour cream dip , adorning sunbaked potatoes , or used to flavour meat knockout , like Salmon River or chicken , as part of a marinade or sauce . The flavor of chives is similar to that of its larger onion cousins but with a much milder flavor . Because they ’re used as a flavourer or seasoning and not really a main component of any ravisher , schnittlaugh are classified as an herb alternatively of a veggie , like the rest of the onion we ’re talk about . However , they are fairly interchangeable with spring onion or immature onions in recipes . The larger onions will just bring more of that oniony tang to the dish than chive would .

The words we were just using to discuss the flavor of onion , sweet , soft , and pungent ( or unassailable ) , are another way you ’ll see them classified , especially when shopping for onion cum . Sometimes , the pungent flavored onions are promise American onions alternatively , while mild or sweet onion might be referred to as European onions .

Once you start to delve into onion research , you ’ll no doubt find that many sources contradict one another . Due to this confusion , the entropy you ’ll find here has relied on theUSDA PLANTS Database , GlobalBiodiversity Information Facility , and universities and agrarian annexe offices to make final calls where at odds sources muddy the waters . To clear things up , here ’s a breakdown of the differences between electric light Allium cepa , green onion , outpouring onions , spring onion , cluster Allium cepa , multiplier onions , and the other allium diverseness that incline to get fuddle with one another .

white onion

Ways of Describing and Discussing Onion Varieties

We sometimes mention to onion by the onion plant bulb color , as white Allium cepa , yellow or brown onions , and red or royal onions . However , these appointment trace more than just the shade of the onion . Yellow onions are the most common and the best for caramelize due to their mild taste . Most of the mutual smorgasbord of sweet onion are yellow , though not all jaundiced Allium cepa are sweet onion and not all sweet onion are yellow . ( More on that afterwards . ) Yellow onions may be sweet , mild , or have a more pungent savour depending on the specific variety .

White onions are the ones you see dice in Mexican cuisine , such as in pico de gallo , or chopped into potato salad . They ’re also used to make white sauce . white-hot smorgasbord incline to have a warm flavor than xanthous onion , with more of a spicy constituent to them . Red onions can be sweet-scented , mild , or pungent in tang . They tend to be used in raw covering to top Warren E. Burger or sandwiches , and you ’ll also find them in roasted vegetable sweetheart or chopped into salad .

You ’ll run across other specialty onion plant categories , each with their own terminology . type include Cipollini onions , pickle onions , Maui onions , Spanish onions , memory board onions , sweet onions , and Vidalia onions . There ’s some crossover in the kind . ( For example , Maui and Vidalia onions are sealed types of sweet onion ; some storage onions are Spanish or pickling onion . ) We ’ve broken all this down in the sections below .

scallions

Bulb Onions (Allium cepa L.)

Bulb onionsare also sometimes called garden onions or may be referred to by their color , as livid onion plant , yellowish onions , and crimson or purple onions . Bulb onions grow for one season andare harvestedbefore the next , when they would otherwise make off or blossom and go to cum . These are the onions with large bulb [ https://www.gardeningchannel.com/grow-bigger-onions/ ] , around the size of a baseball game or bigger .

Bulb onions can be categorized as either long day , little daylight , or sidereal day electroneutral along with their other identify term . These word have to do with the mode onions are cultivated and cite to how many hours of sunlight the onions ask to bulb .

Long twenty-four hours types need 14.5 or more hours of daily Sunday to produce their bulbs , while brusk sidereal day onion can make a incandescent lamp with 12 to 13 time of day of daily sunshine . forgetful day mixture incline to have a milder taste and are also generally appropriate for reposition .

bulb and green onions with text overlay onions explained Onions vs. Green Onions, Scallions, Spring Onions or Bunching Onions

eccentric call day achromatic can be counted on to organize bulbs regardless of how much sun they get , so they ’re suited to be maturate in any region , no matter of the climate . If a long or curt day Allium cepa does n’t get enough sun to bulb , the gardener will end up with a harvest of dark-green onions that wo n’t farm any declamatory .

Sweet Onions

yellowish onions are sometimes call sweet onion , though honest perfumed onions are only usable at the end of summertime stretching into fall . Sweet onion have more saccharide than most onions , along with higher water substance and less of the atomic number 16 compounds and pyruvic acids that give onion their characteristic fetor , precipitous oniony pungency , and bring tears to your eyes when onions are cut . More than other onions , fresh onion can be susceptible to bruising or cut off in their skin . These are widely view the best of the electric light onion to eat raw .

Texas onions , Maui onion , and Vidalia onion plant are all type of sweet onion that originated in the country they ’re named for . Most people will think of jaundiced onions when you refer to a mellifluous onion , although red and white varieties are out there . The red sweet onions and blank sweet onion just are n’t nearly as prevailing as the yellowed types . Some well - eff mellisonant onion varieties are list down below .

Vidalia Onions

Some people call all sweet onionsVidalias , although by Union fiat , the only ones that can really be called Vidalias are a certain type of sweet-flavored onion grown in Georgia . Vidalia onion include the varieties Texas Early Grano and Yellow Granex . All Vidalia onion are yellow .

Spanish Onions

Spanish onions can be either yellow or red-faced . These Allium cepa varieties are known for their large size and mild , sweet flavor . You ’ll see them most often slice raw and served on sandwiches , in salad , or to garnish a sweetheart . We ’ve listed some common Spanish Allium cepa type below .

Cipollini Onions

Cipollini onions are an Italian variety that have a distinctive flat cast , oblong bulb and little size — about adequate to a golf ball . Once exclusively the knowledge domain of fine dining or epicurean nutrient storage , they ’re becoming more widely available all the time . These onion plant can be either crimson , whitened , or yellow , and they ’re known for their sweet . You ’ll usually observe them either sliced and caramelized or roasted whole . Some democratic variety are list here .

Pickling Onions

Some onion are diagnose after how they ’re used . For good example , pickling onions are varieties proven to be good for pickle . That means they require to be small , so pickling onion are often pearl onions , Chinese onions , or potato onions , too . A tilt follows of common pickling onion sort .

Barletta

Storage Onions / Keeping Onions

Another onion category named for their exercise are the store onions or keeping Allium cepa , which are heirloom or intercrossed onions breed to be bring around ordried in the sun for storageso they will keep for months over the winter , sometimes in attractiveonion braids . memory onions tend to be long - day varieties . These are well grown in northern province . Gardeners in southern land run to develop short - day variety , though , and have ones considerably suited for keeping that are referred to as memory board onion , too .

chicken onions are most probable to be store onions , but there are some carmine and snowy varieties also used for storage . These onion plant have an especially acrid flavor and tend to be the ones that will bring tears to your eyes when they ’re sliced into due to their in high spirits atomic number 16 mental object . Storage or holding onions also be given to have fatheaded skins and lower water subject matter than other onion varieties .

There is a survival of the fittest of storehouse onion varieties list below , divided by color .

Green Onions

fleeceable onions are n’t a picky cultivar , but rather are any type of onion that is harvested prior to bulbing . They ’re the single you see in the produce department deal in a bunch , and they ’re almost always attend to naked . Occasionally , green Allium cepa may be grilled , however , and in Asian culinary art , they ’re used in cooked dishes like fried rice or the scallion pancake .

Gardeners may use the onions they thin out of their layer when they ’re arise bulb onions as immature onions in the kitchen so the youthful plants do n’t go to waste . In everyday usage , you ’ll hear green onions , springiness onions , Allium porrum , bulbing onions , or any small variety called green onion fairly ofttimes .

Spring Onions

springtime onions are a whole plenty like green onion , so it ’s no surprise that the terms get miscellaneous up all the time . However , spring onion have larger bulbs than unripened onions do . Sometimes , what we call a spring onions is an immature bulbing Allium cepa that has been left to grow longer than it would be if it were called a green onion plant . These are sold in bunches like green onion are and are used in the kitchen in the same path . They may also be refer to as salad onions . come that are sold as springtime onions are refer to that agency because they are often used as outpouring onions or because they make in particular ripe leaping onion , although if left to mature they will be a variety of bulbing onion . The listing below includes onions that are commonly grow as outpouring onion .

Scallions

Scallions do not make a incandescent lamp as they produce and therefore look like very diminished and unfledged green onions . The term are used interchangeably , and scallion , spring onions , and green onions can be substituted in recipe without issue . Scallions have an especially mild sapidity and mature in sandy loam .

Although you ’ll see immature bulbing onion or other immature onions sold as scallions and referred to as such , scallions are varieties that have been breed for a long white stem before the green leaves begin . Their light-green leave-taking are also more cranky than bulbing onion plant variety . So although scallions are classified as Allium cepa like bulbing onions , they are cultivar that have been breed for their tender leaves , mild nip , long ashen shank , and tendency not to bulb when harvest in their immature form . We ’ve name a few scallion types below .

Pearl Onions (Allium ampeloprasum)

Pearl onion are also called mini onions , and they ’re teeny bantam , about half an inch in diameter . Pearl onions are always bloodless , and they ’re dried , then used in stews , braised dishes , and with heart . They ’re pickle and sell as cocktail onions , too , to be used in the Gibson cocktail . A few pearl Allium cepa varieties are in the list that follows .

Bunching Onions (Allium fistulosum)

True bunching onions are Allium fistulosum , but you ’ll also see belittled - bulbed versions of Allium cepa called bunch together onion very commonly . These are also called Welsh onions or Japanese onion . variety of bunching onion are listed here .

Despite the official categories , you should be aware that due to far-flung muddling of the divisions between these specie , the way these words are actually used by real people ( both in conversation and in online or drop a line source ) deviate widely from the exact definitions . Most multitude you ’ll encounter will be using the terms pretty much interchangeably — specially when it make out to the words “ green onion , ” “ green onion , ” and “ spring Allium cepa ” .

As gardeners , however , we know that you demand to be sealed the care instructions you ’re read apply to the type of onion you are growing . The unspoilt news is that when it comes to the adult picture of maintenance , these vegetables have very standardised needs and preferences . Where they deviate tends instead to be in their maturation habits , such as whether they ’ll ever form bulbs or the Clarence Day to maturity . And now that you ’re well informed about which of these plants are which , even if a semen bundle , internet site , or other source is using the incorrect condition , you ’ll be knowing enough to sieve it all out and be surefooted in the option you make for the plants in your garden .