The Major Storage Mistake To Avoid With Fresh Green Onions

To maximize the shelf life of our produce, we often freeze it. However, freezing and thawing before cooking is a major storage mistake to avoid with raw and fresh green onions or scallions. Unfortunately, after you thaw frozen green onions, they lose their crispness and become mushy, soft, and soggy. Instead, if you freeze raw green onions, skip the thawing process and cook them directly from frozen. That means tossing the frozen green onions into the wok for a stir fry, or cooking directly in stews, soups, braises, and sauces. 

So why exactly do frozen green onions turn soft and mushy after thawing? When frozen, all the water content in the vegetable turns into ice crystals, which in turn causes expansion and breakdown of the cellular walls of the green onions. While thawing, the ice crystals turn back into moisture and leak out of the green onions. Therefore, it's best not to consume thawed green onions raw or use them in preparations that don't require cooking, like salads. 

Flash-freezing scallions can mitigate some of the issues with ice crystals expanding and breaking down cellular wall structure. However, even when you flash freeze your green onions, it's still best to use them directly in cooking and skip the thawing process.

Another way to mitigate the mushiness you get with frozen green onions is to cook the green onions before freezing them. You can do this through blanching or a quick sauté with a little oil. If blanching your green onions, try using the blanching shortcut home cooks should know: Running veggies under cold tap water.

The reason behind cooking the green onions first is to reduce some of the moisture that can turn into ice crystals in the freezer and prevent the loss of color, flavor, and texture. After you freeze precooked green onions, it is still best to use them directly in cooking and skip the thawing process. 

There are many creative ways to use scallions. Green onions can transform a dish with their aromatic, grassy earthiness. While best cooked into savory dishes like soups and stews, they can even be used when making pancakes, waffles, and bread. However, you may want to skip using green onions in TikTok's latest iced coffee trend that involves a totally unexpected ingredient. No matter how you prepare, store, and freeze your green onions, they just won't elevate an iced latte.