Green onions are one of the most versatile ingredients out there.
If you are unfamiliar with the name, you may better recognize it as scallions or spring onions.
Green onions are known by different names in different regions.
In most parts of Australia, the US, and the UK, green onions are termed as shallots (though shallots are a kind of their own).
Anyway, green onions look nothing like your regular onions. These are white and green in color.
It has a young, underdeveloped white base with long green stalks. You can use both these parts in several recipes.
Green onions add great flavors to soups and various cuisines and can also be used as garnishing.
The best part is you can consume it either cooked or raw. Both ways, it is delicious and healthy.
Since green onions are different than your regular onions, you might wonder how long does green onion lasts or if you should store them like you store your regular onions.
And we are here to help you better understand the shelf life of green onions, and how to check if your green onions have turned bad.
Without further ado, let’s jump straight into the article.
How Long Does Green Onion Last? Does Green Onion Go Bad?
If you want a straight answer to this question, the answer would be yes, green onions do go bad just like any other food products.
Now, getting into the trickier part of the question, how long green onion lasts depends on what kind of green onion you’re talking about.
Are you talking about cooked green onions or raw green onions? There is nothing much to say about the shelf life of cooked green onions.
Why? Because it depends on several things like how you cooked it, what additional ingredients you used, etc.
But here’s a tip, for cooked green onions, treat it like you’d treat any other meal. You can store it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge.
And hopefully, it would last till the next day’s dinner. However, first, make sure to check signs of spoilage before consuming it.
Now let’s focus on raw green onions. Whether you bought them from the grocery store or pulled some from your kitchen garden, their shelf life and storage methods will remain the same.
Since most households don’t store regular onions in the fridge, you may think it’s the same with green onions. However, this is not true.
If you want to extend the shelf life of your green onions, it is best to store them in the fridge in a clean plastic bag.
Green onions have a shelf life of around three to four days when stored outside the fridge. If you store it in the fridge, green onions will last up to two weeks.
However, their shelf life depends on how well you store them. Always make sure to clean and wash the green onions thoroughly.
Put them in a plastic bag. Also, make sure that the green stalks are not folded or stripped.
In case you ended up with tons of green onions from your kitchen garden, or you just couldn’t resist the discount and bought dozens of it, you always have the option to freeze them.
Just wash and dry them properly, chop into fine pieces if you want to, and store them in airtight containers or freezer bags.
And put them in the freezer. Frozen green onions will last up to a year.
How to Tell if Green Onion are Bad? Green Onion Shelf Life!
Sometimes, things can go wrong, and your fresh green onions can turn bad. So, how to distinguish between fresh and stale raw green onions? It is quite simple.
You don’t even have to smell or taste it to figure out if your green onions have turned bad. You can simply tell by how it looks.
During the early stages of turning bad, green onions tend to become soft and discolored. This discoloration gives off a foul odor too.
You don’t need to inspect stale green onions very closely, the odor and discoloration are evident.
On the bright side, you don’t have to discard bad green onions. Of course, if the onions are completely damaged, you have no other options but to discard it.
But if only a part of them is affected or damaged, you can follow some quick steps and regrow the onions.
On the other hand, if you want to check if cooked green onions have turned bad. You can always give it a whiff.
It also depends on how you cooked it and with what ingredients. But if it gives off a sour or weird smell, you may want to toss it out.
You can also taste it a little to check whether it has the same taste as when you first cooked it. If not, discard it immediately.
Conclusion
Though green onions are known by different names in different regions, they are loved throughout the world.
While some love it in their salads, some use it for garnishing their soups.
But however, you use them; green onions can automatically enhance the taste of your meals.
How Long Does Green Onion Last? Does Green Onion Go Bad?
Ingredients
- Green onions
- Air-tight containers or Ziplock bags
- Labels and markers
Instructions
- Read the guide thoroughly to learn how long it lasts.
- Label your container with the content and date and keep track of how much you’re using!
- Make sure to store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place (pantry or fridge).
- If frozen, thaw in the fridge before use. Always check for signs of spoilage before using.
About The Author
