A
scallion, also commonly known as
spring onion or
green onion, is associated with various members of the genus
Allium that lack a fully-developed bulb. They tend to be milder tasting than other
onions and are typically steamed and set in
salads in western cookery and cooked in many
Asian recipes. Diced scallions are often used in
soup,
noodle,
seafood, and
sauce in eastern dishes, after removing the bottom quarter-inch or so of the root end.
The species most commonly associated with the name is the Welsh onion, Allium fistulosum. "Scallion" is sometimes used for Allium ascalonicum, better known as the shallot. The words scallion and shallot are related and can be traced back to the Greek askolonion as described by the Greek writer Theophrastus; this name, in turn, seems to originate from the Philistine town of Ascalon (modern-day Ashkelon in Israel). The shallots themselves apparently came from farther east.[1]
Scallions have various common names throughout the world.
The escallion (Allium ascalonicum L.[2], pronounced scallion with its silent e) is a culinary herb. Grown in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, it is similar in appearance to the scallion, Welsh onion and leek, though said by Jamaicans to be more flavoursome. Like these others, it is a (relatively) mild onion that does not form a large bulb.
