Scallion gel?

December 10, 2007 6:37 PM

I love scallions. I mean, I should really do the right thing and propose. But the one thing holding me back is that small, clear blob of gel/fluid that sometimes oozes from the joint where the hollow green section meets the solid white section while chopping. What is that stuff?

If it matters, these scallions are usually overpriced Whole Foods scallions.

posted by R. Mutt to food & drink (11 comments total)

Plant sap.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 6:53 PM on December 10, 2007

Your scallions are what I call "spring onions", yes? Long thin things like anorexic leeks?

That "stuff" is just sap, or juice. Its squidgy, viscid texture is a good thing; it lends mouth-feel to whatever add you them to, like okra, though not as much.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 6:54 PM on December 10, 2007

Scallion goop. I really can't tell you.

What I can tell you is that the juice of the scallions is quite bitter and sulphurous (and probably what you're talking about), and in Japanese cuisine they are frequently rinsed and dried after being chopped, before they are used as a garnish. It produces a lighter, greener flavour and is great for soups, on fish, etc. In a salad I usually wouldn't bother as that pungency lets them put up a fight with other strong flavours.
posted by mek at 6:57 PM on December 10, 2007

I think that what makes it thick is pectin.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 7:11 PM on December 10, 2007

Monocotyledon ooze - this is typical of monocots, such as aloe, daffodils, grasses and onions.
posted by fish tick at 7:12 PM on December 10, 2007 [2 favorites]

Also known as shallots.
posted by oxford blue at 2:16 AM on December 11, 2007

Nah, shallots are more onion-shaped but they're milder, smaller and often with a couple of 'lobes' contained in the outermost layer. Mmmm, shallots. Mmmm scallionspringonions. I never knew that the goop was a flavor issue or that it could be prevented. I bake small savory pies with scallions in them and now I'm wondering if the filling would be improved in flavor or consistency with some post-chop rinsing. This has been a very enlightening thread!
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 3:16 AM on December 11, 2007

Nah, we call them shallots. It's almost as if different countries have different names for things:

Comme ça:

United States and Canada: scallion or green onion. The term green onion can also be used for immature specimens of the ordinary onion (Allium cepa).
Australia: shallots (or eschallots or spring onions depending on the region). This use of the word shallot differs from other countries in which it only refers to the dry, bulbous "French" shallot.
Cagayan, Philippines: lasuna especially to dark, green scallions. Used widely in sauces and as garnishes.
Great Britain and some Commonwealth countries: The most popular name is spring onions.
Wales: They may also be referred to as gibbons.
Scotland: They may be referred to as cibies or syboes.
Ireland: The term scallions is used.
Italy: They are usually called "cipollotti" or "cipolline novelle".
India: They are called spring onions and they are available widely.
Iran: They are referred to as Tarreh and are used in many dishes.
Korea: pa (hangul: 파).
Japan: negi (ねぎ?). Traditionally, green scallions similar to those available in other countries have been used in the kansai region; Kyoto's kujo negi is a representative variety of this type. In the kanto region, large white-stalked varieties such as tokyo negi outwardly resemble leeks, although their culinary use is closer to scallions than to leeks.
Catalonia: There is a variety known as Calçot.
Malay: They are called daun bawang.
posted by oxford blue at 3:31 AM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

In most of the world, a shallot is a mature bulb with a flvour intermediate between garlic and a cooking onion. A scallion is an onion without a well developed bulb. These are shallots; these are green onions/scalions/etc.
posted by bonehead at 9:28 AM on December 11, 2007

On further consideration of this matter, I think you would be well advised to dismiss the notion of betrothal in general if oozing blobs of fluid put you off.
posted by fish tick at 11:08 AM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

Yes, oxford_blue, ねぎ in Japanese. Synonymous with delicious! (for me anyway...)

Try topping a block of cold tofu with raw chopped scallions, grated ginger and light soy sauce.

Fantastic.
posted by fan_of_all_things_small at 8:42 PM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]