In the vegetable section, you will come across long skinny stalks of green vegetables. These vegetables are chopped into bits and are commonly used as toppings in various dishes. You can put it in stews, soups, eggs, and teriyaki dishes, to name a few.
So, which types of vegetables are long and skinny? Generally, these are what you call shallots, green onions, scallions, and chives. But what makes each type different from the other? Once these are chopped into bits for garnish, it can be quite difficult to know the type of vegetable used.
Plus, you will often hear or read these words when you work on a recipe and might wonder which one is it. If you are curious to know how different these vegetables are, continue reading this guide.
This article will remove all your confusion about shallots vs green onion vs scallions vs chives. Learn about their uses, taste, and appearance to better understand which vegetable to use for your dishes.
Green Onions Vs Scallions
Did you know that green onions and scallions are exactly the same thing? It is one vegetable but is labeled with two different names: green onions and scallions. However, scallions are often smaller and younger than green onions since they are harvested earlier.
This vegetable has long and thin green stalks with white roots. Both green and white parts can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves typically reach a height of one foot when harvested, but can reach as high as three feet.
The taste is similar to white and yellow onions that are oniony and pungent. You can get one with a bulb at the base or without it. Moreover, this vegetable is available all year round.
Chives
Chives are commonly used as an herb. It is a bulb-forming herbaceous perennial plant that is best used raw. The length can be up to 30 to 50 centimeters long.
The appearance is similar to green onions but more tapered, tubular, and green. It looks like a bunch of slender straws. The green color spans from the root to the tips, unlike green onions with visible white tips.
It adds color and a subtle oniony taste to any dish. The taste is generally lighter and milder than others and is often compared to onions and garlic.
Thus, it has a mild garlicky taste. You can also add chives to dips, dressings, soups, and stews, among other things.
Shallots
Shallots are easier to spot since these are similar to regular onions and are not long green stalks like green onions and chives. It is a small elongated purple bulb, like a mini version of red onions from the outside. This oval bulb vegetable also has a smooth copper to tan color.
When it comes to taste, it is a bit sweeter than regular onions. It gives you an oniony taste without being too strong. Moreover, it is peppery with a hint of garlic.
It is more pungent when eaten raw but sweeter and mellow when cooked. Shallots are best used as aromatics for added flavor. You can use it for sautéed dishes, soups, sauces, roasted dishes, pies, sauces, and many more.
Spring Onions
Spring onions with small bulbs on the roots
You may have come across spring onions and wondered if they are the same as others mentioned here. Spring onions will have a small bulb on the roots. It is an immature stage of bulbing onions.
Thus, you can find bulbs that are white, yellow, or red. If the spring onions are allowed to mature, the bulbs will become larger, giving you large onion bulbs. When it comes to taste, it has a pungent and sweet taste.
However, it is not as pungent as regular yellow onions. It is considered more flavorful than others since it grows for a longer time.
Moreover, it can be eaten raw or cooked. Spring onions are great substitutes for green onions, and vice versa.
In A Nutshell
Green onions are thicker, while chives are tubular and slender. In terms of color, green onions have a lighter green color with a white base. On the other hand, chives have a darker green color and are green throughout, from tips to roots.
Shallots look completely different from green onions and chives since they are oval elongated onions. It is purple or copper in color and is smaller than a regular onion. As for spring onions, it is larger than green onions and chives and has a small onion bulb in the base.
Did you find these facts interesting? Which part was new information to you? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Learn more about these healthy vegetables by following Kitchen Misadventures on Instagram and Tiktok. If you want to use any of these vegetables, try my recipes such as Clams In Black Bean Sauce and Restaurant-Style Salt And Pepper Squid.
