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Sunday, March 4, 2012

How To Keep Spring Onion for Days or Weeks - Random Sunday

Spring onions / scallions / green onions is one of my MUST HAVES in the fridge, besides butter and eggs. I must replenish it whenever it runs out. It's one of the crucial dinner ingredients. No spring onions, no fried rice. Somehow, I don't like my fried rice without it. And with spring onions I can cook a lot more of other emergency dishes like ginger onion pork or ginger onion chicken. Or even cook  pork and mussels porridge or my husband's favourite Salmon Congee. I need it all the time.

My girl loves spring onions. :) and it adds colour to my dishes.

I have also come to know that a lot of people do not like to buy and store them, because they wilt and spoil easily, even when chilled. Ok. But that doesn't happen to me. Read on.



The major problem is, wilting. It wilts because the air in the fridge is dry. It can dry up within 2 days in the fridge if left exposed. It's considered exposed when it's wrapped in newspaper or partially wrapped in a plastic bag.

Try this method and gimme some feedback.
Take note that the duration of it staying fresh depends on how fresh the spring onions were when they were bought. The fresher they are, the longer they will keep.
I have been doing this for 10 years and this method has never failed me.

Any plastic container will do. Even those you get from takeaways, thin transparent ones. Or ice cream containers. Tupperware or my fridge is not the magic here. *Lena, not my fridge, ok* LOL.










That was the thicker parts.. what about the tips???




Lastly... this picture was taken few days back of 18 day old spring onions from my fridge. Still looking good right? I think this must be my freshest spring onions ever. Usually they only last 2 weeks, but this time I think they can last 3 weeks minimum!

75 comments:

  1. I don't cook that often so I usually cut and trim all my vegetables whenever I have the time and place them in a big tupperware. And they usually keep pretty well over the week as I continually use them. I suppose its the moisture being retained in there. And spring onions can keep like forever!

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  2. Spring onions are also a must in our household. yes, problem is the wilting part. Thx for the tip. Will try it out.

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  3. Hi Wendy,

    This method does work 100%. I do this for the other leaves as well such as corriander leaves, etc. Usually I air dry them a bit before I place them into the tupperwares.

    Regards,
    Sally

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  4. Siew Ping,
    Yeah.. If your spring onions are not that fresh also won't keep that long one ler


    Jes,
    TQ


    mama,
    I hope this works for u


    Sally,
    Oh yes, everything with leaves work well this way. I think I'm the opposite, I purposely bathe them before keeping, and they preally perk up with the cold air in the fridge when they absorb the extra moisture.

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  5. I used to keep freezer after trim in order to keep longer. But I would say it doesn't stay fresh as your method. Thanks for your tips!

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  6. Thanks wendy for the useful tips. And (i 've said this before), yr blog is one that i'll visit if i want to see something nice...real nice

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  7. I will have spring onions,cilantro and ginger in my fridge at all times. I notice the vegetables here keep much longer than the one back home. I am able to keep them over 2 weeks. I store them in a ziplog bags and control the humidity of the vegetable compartment. I should try out your method and see if I am able to keep them even much longer :)

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  8. Thank you for this tips! Now all of us can store the spring onions in the fridge for weeks!

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  9. Hi

    Do you think I can do the same with coriander ?! I love coriander and like you... its a MUST have in my fridge.

    Thank you for your wonderful tips on keeping spring onion fresh.

    Regards
    Chris

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  10. Hi Wendy, It is me again, do you wash yr spring onion before you store it? I think can do it the same for Green veg right ???

    Tks. Like your blog very much.



    Irene WooPeh

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  11. Vivian,
    If frozen, once thawed.. seems to melt away :(


    makcikkantin,
    Then singgahlah selalu :)


    Bizzy B Bakes,
    u're welcomed


    Gert,
    There.. the travelling from farm to customer already not so hot... here so hot, sure not as long lasting. I think most of our fridges here don't have the luxury of humidity control :(


    Mel,
    sure u can :)


    Chris,
    For coriander.. just keep the whole stalk intact. Rinse and keep. Just that.


    nileey,
    U're welcomed


    IreneWooPeh,
    In one of those pics.. I did show I washed them right?
    Yes, keep ur greens tight in a box.
    That's why Tupperware has special boxes to keep vege in fridge. Check out with your nearest dealer.

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  12. Very useful tip, I don't buy them in bulk for the reason that they wilt after a couple of days. Now I can buy more and not worry about using them up as soon as possible:)

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  13. Thanks for the tip. very useful tip

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  14. my goodness i should really really try this~!!! yay, no need waste liao~~ x) thank you so much Wendy!!!!

    Oi Kha

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  15. Can also use aluminium foil to loosely wrap and seal tightly at the edges or those potato chips plastic bags with aluminium lining. That also helps to keep fresh for a while. Don't know how long, never did any testing as most of the time I use them up within the week.

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  16. I don't stock spring onions because of the same reasons as everyone else - they wilt. I'm going to take your word for it and look forward to more colorful dinners. Thank you!

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  17. no need to pat dry? wash, trim, cut and store. that's it?

    Jean Ho

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  18. i also store like you did but mine dont last till that long ..more than a week or maybe 10 days, not all spoilt, a few of them. i noticed that at times there's water condensation in the container so i have to wipe the container dry every few days to make them last longer. so it's not kelvinator magic, huh? LOL!

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  19. Jeannie,
    No need to worry anymore;)


    cynmaine's mum,
    u're welcomed


    Oi Kha,
    I hope no more wastes form u too!


    busygran,
    Anything to keep the moisture in will be good. Just that boxes will prevent them from being squashed


    Experimental Cook,
    Cheers to colours :)


    Jean,
    Yes.


    Lena,
    Actually this is my longest batch!!!
    Usually 10 days stsrt to turn slightly soggy oredi. but then can still tahan to 2 weeks after some trimming.
    But this batch macam got magic, as if it knows it's going to be photographed! LOL.
    No more Kelvinator, the fridge is Mitsubishi now, hahaha.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wow, this is really amazing! Thanks for sharing. I used to trim off the roots including some of the white, so maybe that's the trick. I'm definitely gonna try this! When there are only 2 persons at home, keeping food fresh for as long as possible is a real $$-saver. Thanks again :)

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  21. Thanks for the tip. I don't like buying spring onion too as I will always end up throwing them away when they wilted. I have tried putting them with their roots in a cup of water and stored them in the fridge. It does help keeping the stems "hydrated" but it is taking a lot of space in my fridge...haha....I guess I should give this method a try.

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  22. NEL,
    Actually if you trim off the white parts, the "rings" will start to come apart as you keep it. The insides will push out and the whole stalk will start to disintergrate rather quickly, like a squashed out pair of pants by a fat guy.


    Vivien,
    Oh ur're still around, LOL.
    U're welcomed. Hey, why did you stop blogging?


    Nitya,
    I hope it works well for you :)
    As long as they are kept air tight, they won't dry out. But give them a good bath first :)

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  23. I'll try your method. I don't use as much scallions as My MIL (mother in law)does. She also keeps the heads in water on the kitchen window sill so the scallions will sprout again and again. Not only fresh....an endless supply!

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  24. This is awesome!! :)Thanks for the tip.

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  25. Yea..keeping them in plastic container gave them a longer life span. It works and that is how I keep them too :)

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  26. Clara,
    If you are from temperate countries, I believe you can do that. But not here. They will die being left at room temperature.


    Hersheys,
    U're welcomed

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  27. oooo...now i know! hehe..thanks for the superb tips! :) will definitely try!

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  28. i don't usually buy spring onion because they don't last long and hence the food I prepared are left "un-garnished".

    Thanks for the useful tips. That's mean I can stock up my spring onion now XD

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi,thanks for sharing. I m just wonder, can i use d same method to keep oths vege(eg: spinach, 油麦etc)? Normally what i did is, wrap in d newspaper without washing/ trimming.But sometimes i found out it doesn.t work well.

    thank you!

    **Anderson's Mama**

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  30. tania,
    U're welcomed


    yvonne,
    Good!


    anderson's mama,
    I keep them in a big tupperware or tightly wrapped in a puffy big plastic bag with lots of air to circulate. I think washing at home should be fine..but it's just those wet market water that is dirty that will spoil the vege.
    My leafy vege keeps for a week air tight, no problem

    ReplyDelete
  31. Wendy, Thanks for the great tip! my spring onion always turned dry and yellow eventhough i kept in a special container..

    ReplyDelete
  32. Every time that I buy a bunch of spring onion, it is too much to finish all within a week. This tip is definitely very useful for me.

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  33. HI Wendy

    great tip! since i only cook once a week, i always throw out unused spring onions so will definitely follow your method! hope to see more tips fr u !
    octopusmum

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  34. Just threw away my coriander... I wrapped with newspaper n put in plastic bag, when contact with water, it became ice-vege.. feed the bin lor. U r so understanding!! solve my problems:)

    I intend to get a KA mixer(to knead bread).Which way is better.. get from KA US direct (worry about the extra charges n warranty) USD300 or get from local dealer RM2700?
    Which digital scale is reliable(to weigh yeast)light weight stuff.

    TQ..

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  35. esther,
    U want them to deliver KA here???? u better check the cost.
    I know somewhere selling for around 2.2k. email me.

    Ur fridge's air circulation no good, that's why become ice, Samsung ah? It has nothing to do with touch water. Sometimes I soak my vege in the fridge.

    Digital scale.. I dunno. Got brand one meh? Everywhere selling China stuff that has so many many many brands. My husband just cincai get one from his supplier for me. This scale has been good to me.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I just use up the last few stalks of my spring onions to cook... Maggi Kari!
    Yumss...
    I do keep some spring onions in my fridge.. for my and hubby's late night supper. We would cook instant noodles with spring onions!

    ReplyDelete
  37. After reading your post, the next day I bought 2 fresh packs of spring onion. Yeah! They are still very fresh-looking now :) And, how easy and convenient to take the spring onion whenever I need it, compared to the past where I bundled them in layers of newspapers before wrapping tightly with plastic bag. Love this great tip!

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  38. Fong,
    thanks for the feedback. Try to see how long it could really keep for you, but it differs with every batch of spring onions.

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  39. I doubt it will last for long ... cos it's so convenient now that I end up using more spring onion for my dishes!

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  40. Thanks for the tip but how about Chinese parsley?

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  41. Fong,
    Haha :)


    babe_kl,
    I just wash and keep the chinese parsley whole in the box, bended. The rinsing and cold from the fridge will perk up the chinese parsley like magic!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Icic. So no need to line the container with paper towel oso? Will try out your method and see how it goes! Thanks for sharing!

    Aaargghh... how I miss my huge Kelvinator in KL!! WIsh I could have brought it here! :D

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  43. Kat,
    No paper towel, just exactly like how you see it here. If it starts to water, esp if the liquid is green, then it's starting to rot already.

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  44. hello wendy,

    thank you for your tips on spring onions! do you think it will work the same for curry leaves?

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  45. nana0709,
    Hmm.... I think so.
    But dried curry leaves still have fragrance right? Anyway it doesn't stay green after cooking, so does it matter if it's green before cooking? For me, I'll still use it if it's not soggy or mouldy.

    ReplyDelete
  46. I used to plant it in a pot - just dump few onions every two weeks and you will always have continuous supply but now I stopped because my kids don't like them.

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  47. Home Kreation,
    Can... but, homegrown ones are not as fragrant as those bought, LOL. Looks similiar , but don't taste the same.

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  48. Today is the 3rd Sunday, my coriander still look very fresh. This tips is very very very useful. Thx.


    Jean Ho

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  49. Oh , thank you so much! :) i just got spring onions and will surely store it right now like this :)

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  50. Thanks for the useful tip! My spring onions well keep in my fridge for more than 2 weeks. :)

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  51. Hi Wendy,

    What a money-saver! Thanks so much for this, I used to buy them once a week, now I only buy them every 2-3 weeks. I used to feel bad for throwing so many wilted onions out, plus they took up so much space in my fridge. Now they're kept nicely with a lot less waste.

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  52. Hi Wendy,

    This is the best tip EVER !!!
    I will use your method. First, I can save money, second, I am not spring onion waster anymore. Yay!!

    ReplyDelete
  53. Thanks will try your method next time i see a nice bunch of Spring onions. From your pics it looks lovely and crisp . What i have been doing for a yeay now is i clean dry them hung upside down then i cut them into small 5mm pieces and freezze them. I do not use the stalk that is the light green to white part (about 13cm from base) . I just cut the roots like what you do and put them in a cup of water half way up in the fridge it keeps 3weeks or so).

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  54. oops, didnt leave a name. So here it is

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  55. Penang House Husband,
    Somehow frozen spring onions have a kind of smell that I don't quite prefer.
    Oh if you don't use the white base, then why did you keep them? I'm curious

    ReplyDelete
  56. Hi Wendy,
    I found a method that keeps vege real fresh. Once I left a half-cut carrot in the aluminium foil bag(from Koko crunch or milk powder) sealed with rubber band in the fridge for 3 months and it was still so fresh. I've kept fresh red chillis this way and they do last quite long too. I haven't tried the method with spring onions though. Thanks for this tips.
    Jennifer

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  57. Hi Wendy, great blog! Thanks for sharing. Does this method work for mint stalks/leaves too? Thank you! Choo

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  58. LY Choo,
    Yes, mint will work too, Actually mint will be ok at room temp, if you keep the base in water.

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  59. Hi Wendy, this is a great tip. I have tried this many times, and it really works. The spring onions have even lasted for more than a month using this method. Thank you very much for sharing!

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  60. I always wrap mine in a paper towel and put in an open bag that you get at the supermarket for fruits and veggies, They last a very long time this way. I will try your way too and see which is better.

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  61. Spring onion is a must in our home..we just love it..thanks for the tip.it really helped.

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  62. Thank you for the tip. Me and my wife are newbies in cooking. Will try this out :)

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  63. Thanks for the tip. Just wondering do you completely dry the spring onions before putting into the container?

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  64. Shelley Singh,
    No I don't. I just shake off excess water before cutting into suitable lengths and that's it.

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  65. I cannot tell you how thankful I am to have this tip! It's amazing and I love that I don't have to immerse anything in water I have to change every day with most such methods. My scallions stay crisp and fresh and I'm not dealing with slime in my veggie drawer. You've changed my life. Maybe in a small way, but still a change! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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  66. This was a great help...now i dont have to waste up specially on my spring onion greens.

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  67. Hi, can I use this method to store the greens in room temperature? I have no access to refrigerators because I stay in school hostel. But I would like to add more vegs when I am cooking instant noodles. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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