My kitchen tips! Learn how to store green onions so that they last long and fresh. With proper care, they can last for 4 to 5 weeks! Eager to find out my secret? Read on then.
Green onions, also known as scallions, and pa / 파 in Korean, are used in many Korean and Asian dishes, so I think it’s only natural that we talk about how to store them here. Right?
I’m sure everyone has their own tips on how to best store them, which I would love to hear, but with my method, you can expect fresh (or -ish) green onions even 4 to 5 weeks after the purchase. (Sometimes even longer!) Intrigued?
I’m not a food scientist, but I think the most important aspect of storing green onions is controlling the moisture. What do you think?
Well, at least for me, that’s the case. I’ve been using my method for a couple of years now and it’s been working very well.
So I won’t hold you from my secret any longer. Here it goes!
How to Store Green Onions
1. Remove the rubber band (if any) that’s holding the green onions. Line up the green onions and cut the root off.
2. Halve the green onions to fit into a large ziplock bag. (The ziplock bag should be at least 27cm x 33cm / 11 inch x 13 inch.) Trim off edge of the green onion if some sticks out and it isn’t going to fit into the bag.
3. If the green onions have some moisture on them gently wipe them down with paper towel.
4. Tear some paper towel that’s large enough to comfortably wrap around the green onion bunch. (I typically use 3 long paper towel sheets for the green onion white part and 3 long paper towel sheets for the green onion green part. As an indication, the size of paper towel I use is 22.5cm x 21cm / 8.9 inch x 8.3 inch per divided section.)
Place the green onion white part in the middle of the paper towel. Firmly wrap the green onions with the paper without squashing the green onions. Place the wrapped green onions into the ziplock bag. Repeat this with the green onion green part.
5. Seal the bag and place it into the fridge. (I place it in the bottom of the fridge – vegetable drawer). While storing, don’t place any heavy objects on top of the green onions.
6. (The most important step!) Take the green onions out and use as needed. Any unused portion can be looked after in the following way:-
Take out the green onions and gently wipe down any moisture on the green onion surface once a week. Inspect the green onions and discard any softening green onion parts (if any).
Replace the paper towel for both green onion white part and green onion green part. Wrap them around as you did before (in step 4) and place the wrapped green onions into the ziplock bag again. Return the bag into the fridge. Repeat step 6 until all green onions are consumed.
P.S. If you have your “tested secret” of keeping green onions fresh for as long as mine, please do share it in the comment section of the post. I’d love to know!
P.P.S Love green onions? Then try my Korean green onion salad recipe. It’s a popular Korean BBQ salad.
