Notes when choosing, preserving and using green onions

Green onions are almost indispensable spices in daily meals. Green onions both increase the attractive flavor of the dish and are used to color the eyes. However, if you want to choose fresh green onions and use them effectively, you also need to pay attention.

Below is useful information on how to use, choose, and preserve green onions by Dr. Nguyen Hoai Thu – Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine provided.

1. Main ingredients and effects of green onions

The main ingredient in green onions is water. Green onions contain very few calories, low fat, no cholesterol. Scallions are vegetables that are lower in carbs than other vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and corn.

Nutritional components in green onions include: vitamin K, vitamin C, folate (a vitamin found in the structure of DNA strands and especially important for pregnant women).

Provide fiber: Green onions help provide about 10% of the daily fiber intake to help increase satiety, good for the digestive system, and lower cholesterol levels.

Prevent colds: Scallions have antibacterial and antiviral properties that help fight viral infections like colds and help clear mucus.

Green onions are grown in the field

2. Who should limit eating green onions?

Green onions are known to be a very good spice for the cardiovascular system to help blood circulate better, prevent blood clots. However, with some drugs involved in anticoagulant treatment, onions reduce the effectiveness of the drug. Therefore, if you are taking anticoagulant drugs, you should consult your doctor about whether to eat onions with meals.

According to many studies, onions are very good for the heart and help stabilize blood pressure. However, people with high blood pressure should not eat a lot of green onions.

Women should not eat a lot of green onions during their menstrual period because this will make your menstrual flow more than usual.

People with underarm odor, people with high blood pressure, women during menstruation should not eat green onions.

For those who suffer from underarm odor or sweat a lot, they should limit eating green onions. Onions contain a lot of S-oxide propanethion and allinase, which creates a slight pungent odor when the enzyme structure is broken. These substances, when entering the stomach, will cause chemical reactions with digestive secretions to release free sulfur radicals.

The remaining components are converted into Allyl methyl sulphide compounds – AMS (CH2=CHCH2SCH3). This substance, when it reaches the large intestine, will quickly penetrate a part of the blood and circulate throughout the body and also be excreted into the apocrine sweat glands in the armpits, private areas and legs, causing a strong smell of sulfur. .

For people with heat in the body, if they eat a lot of green onions, the body will often feel uncomfortable, causing the body to develop many acne.

3. How to choose fresh green onions

When buying onions, you should choose fresh green onions that have dark green stems, so if the onions are still fresh, the leaves will be green from root to tip except for the white part.

If you see that the green onions are yellow or shriveled, do not buy them because the onions are damaged and cannot keep their fresh taste.

Should choose scallions with roots, scallions with a plump root, not scratched.

Should choose scallions with a plump root that is not scratched, otherwise the amount of nutrients in green onions will be lost.

If green onions are still fresh, not only the leaves are dark green and the bulbs are pure white. However, if you see that the onion is yellow or rotten, you should not buy it because the onion has been stored for a long time and does not retain its delicious taste.

Should choose green onions with roots. Usually, when plucking green onions, people will uproot the roots, then wash them and sell them. If you see a green onion with white, fresh roots, it means that the onion has just been pulled, and if the roots are yellow or rotten, the onion is old.

5. How to preserve green onions?

How to preserve whole green onions?

Method 1: Use a paper towel. To keep green onions fresh for longer, prepare a ziplock bag and a few sheets of damp paper towels first.

How to preserve whole green onions.

Wash the scallions and cut them to the size of a zip bag, wrap the onions in a paper towel and place them on top, then gently wrap them.

Finally put in a zip bag and store in the refrigerator. In this way, green onions can be stored for up to 8 weeks. Every 1-2 weeks, you should take it out and replace it with another wet tissue.

Put green onions in a zip bag and store in the refrigerator

Method 2: Put in a water bottle. Wash onions to the roots but do not cut off the roots, prepare a glass of clean water, should choose a transparent glass for easy observation.

Wash the onions to the roots, but do not cut the roots

Put the scallions in a glass, cover with a thin layer of wrapper. Then store in a cool place. This way green onions will be preserved for 3 weeks.

How to store chopped green onions, cut into pieces

Wash the green onions and put them in a basket to drain, then cut the white head and green leaves separately. Place in a ziplock bag or box with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the freezer compartment.

Chop the scallions into small pieces and store them in the refrigerator.

Method 1: Soak in oil.

Wash the scallions and cut off the roots, cut the onion into pieces about 3-4 fingers long. Place onions in a deep bowl or dish.

Heat about 2 cups of cooking oil over medium heat until the oil is hot. Turn off the heat and pour oil on the onions, let it sit until it cools down, then put it in a jar or glass container, close the lid, and store it in the refrigerator.

This way green onions can be preserved for more than a week.

Soak scallions in oil.

Method 2: Freeze green onions

If you often use onions to fry the aroma when cooking, this method is very suitable. You cut or chop the scallions. Then put a sufficient amount into the ice tray, pour in cooking oil.

Place in the freezer until frozen. After freezing, remove from the tray, put in each bag or small box and store in the freezer compartment. When it comes to cooking, just use 1 “onion stone” to put it on the pan or pan.

In this way, green onions can be preserved for about 2 months.

Freeze green onions.