tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post5238691523036178889..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: onions, green and springlynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-82894300682355941372016-03-26T11:24:33.480+00:002016-03-26T11:24:33.480+00:00American for 'chives' is 'chives'....American for 'chives' is 'chives'. The WWF dictionaries have many mysteries. lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-24597239574822041662016-03-25T09:51:38.734+00:002016-03-25T09:51:38.734+00:00In Ireland we call spring onions BrE - scallions. ...In Ireland we call spring onions BrE - scallions. But can you tell me if chives are called anything else in America? Just asking because Words with Friends (like Scrabble online) won't accept it as a legitimate word!EJHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07452416580409630379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-19337254096804511952012-10-17T18:23:22.925+01:002012-10-17T18:23:22.925+01:00I scanned the posts, but did not see it. I have he...I scanned the posts, but did not see it. I have heard people with English accents say onion with a g sound in it. Do you know why and what this is about?<br /><br />Again, I scanned the posts but did not see it. Sorry if I repeated something already said.Mindynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48312821347342457902010-04-25T15:54:53.566+01:002010-04-25T15:54:53.566+01:00Here in N Ireland many people eat only the green p...Here in N Ireland many people eat only the green part of scallions and throw away the bulb. I tend to do this myself, as I prefer the taste of the green part and use it in the same way as I do chives.<br /><br />I don't think it matters what part(s) you eat or what you call this plant, it's still an extremely healthy food and has recently been proved to be useful in the fight against various cancers, especially prostate cancer. From http://www.avianweb.com/prostatehealth.html<br /><br />'Garlic, onions, shallots, leeks and scallions (allium group vegetables) may cut the risk of prostate cancer. A study surveyed 200 men with prostate cancer and 500 healthy men in Shanghai, China and questioned them on their eating habits. Results were straightforward: men who ate small amounts of onions, garlic, scallions, shallots and leeks each day decreased their risk of prostate cancer by more than 33 percent. Additionally, those who ate 2 grams of garlic per day deceased their risk of prostate cancer by more than 50 percent, but even eating only one clove cut the risk. <b><i>Scallions, which lowered the risk of prostate cancer by 70 percent, were found to be most beneficial.'</i></b><br /><br />And I know from other sites that scallions may help prevent a range of cancers or help those who already have cancer, not just prostate cancer. So call them scallions or green onions or spring onions or whatever you like, but try to eat them regularly for the sake of your health!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12279812395466871075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-90518821263413239162010-04-18T06:33:24.423+01:002010-04-18T06:33:24.423+01:00I'm from the U. S. and my mother chopped up th...I'm from the U. S. and my mother chopped up the white bulbs, and threw away the green parts. I've always done the same. I've never seen it the other way around.Nancynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87904344444548245642008-12-14T22:32:00.000+00:002008-12-14T22:32:00.000+00:00Gotta comment on the green vs. white part of the o...Gotta comment on the green vs. white part of the onion thing. I'm from the US and I have never heard of or seen anyone not using the white part of what we call green, or bunching onions and instead only using the green! In fact most people here eat the white part raw and use it in cooking, throwing more of the green away. I think those who thought otherwise are the minority.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-70748594563691654332008-09-17T20:48:00.000+01:002008-09-17T20:48:00.000+01:00I'm surprised nobody has pointed out that Scallion...I'm surprised nobody has pointed out that Scallion is the Irish English and North of England word used for what in the southern half of England is called a spring onion.Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01703548364118364764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-89571727751165342242008-08-14T15:05:00.000+01:002008-08-14T15:05:00.000+01:00Better late than never, I suppose. To me, and I t...Better late than never, I suppose. To me, and I think to AmE culinary types as well, a "spring onion" is any kind of onion uprooted while still immature. "Scallion"/"green onion" is a specific variety of onion. Oh, and in my dialect (not sure where I got this from), red onions are "Bermuda onions".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-1765871585077383412007-10-04T08:41:00.000+01:002007-10-04T08:41:00.000+01:00In Scotland these salad onions are known as syboes...In Scotland these salad onions are known as syboes (pronounced sa-ee-bees) apparently one of a number of French loan words in Scots (cf. ashet, gigot) surviving from the Auld Alliance of the fifteenth century between Scotland and France.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-27417989749301945952007-03-31T17:06:00.000+01:002007-03-31T17:06:00.000+01:00I grew up in Southern California, where we always ...I grew up in Southern California, where we always called them "green onions." (For a long time I thought "scallions" were a different vegetable altogether.) We used every bit of it except the roots, but I've noticed that many recipes specify to use *only* the white part. (If you do, save the greens for making soup stock.) What most amused me about Lynne's post, however, were the lyrics to "Green Onions," with which I was unfamiliar. I'm surprised no one here questioned "grunions" (great rhyme for onions!), which is a *very* Southern Cal. reference. Grunion are tiny silvery fish that come ashore to spawn between March and September. Going down to the beach to watch the grunion run, as it's called, has been a popular SoCal pastime for decades--it's eerie and beautiful to see the waves shimmering with thousands of fish. I've never eaten a grunion, though, with or without green onions. (More grunion lore: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/MRD/grnindx3.html)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-61617645435789274872007-03-30T18:24:00.000+01:002007-03-30T18:24:00.000+01:00Chiming in with the Danish view as per usual (thou...Chiming in with the Danish view as per usual (though a little late).<BR/><BR/>The most common - and proper term - is "forårsløg" which is a direct translation, but somewhere along the way the name was reanalysed and it's not uncommon to see them sold as "spring løg" where "spring" is pronounced (I believe) as the Danish word meaning "jump" (as in "spring, sprang, sprung" in English).<BR/><BR/>Shallots to me are small and relatively mild onions that off the top of my head have mainly been used as flavouring when preserving ... gherkins(?) and that sort of thing.<BR/><BR/>Their spelling and pronunciation vary though, and I'm never quite sure whether "skallotteløg" or "schalotteløg" is more 'proper' (the last one is occasionally reinterpreted, too, as "Charlotteløg" from the given name).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-12039571993309282542007-03-23T20:43:00.000+00:002007-03-23T20:43:00.000+00:00When I was growing up (US) my parents interchangea...When I was growing up (US) my parents interchangeably called them scallions or green onions. I learned spring onions in the UK when I lived there. Some recipes call for only one part, but other than that I've always used both parts.<BR/><BR/>My parents got really annoyed once when they were served scallions on a dish at a fancy restaurant instead of chives, which was what the menu said would be served.Alexishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15019989788721036349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-72862501391765066402007-03-23T09:46:00.000+00:002007-03-23T09:46:00.000+00:00Jangari, are you using shallot in the (apparently)...Jangari, are you using <I>shallot</I> in the (apparently) Australian way to mean <I>scallion</I>? Scallions are young onions, but shallots are different from standard onions, in that they grow more like garlic--their bulbs grow in clusters.<BR/><BR/>A clove of garlic I would say is the bit within a bulb. And although I try not to talk of 'right/wrong' here :), I think that most people who call a head of garlic a <I>clove of garlic</I> don't cook very much! When a recipe calls for three cloves of garlic, they certainly don't mean three heads. (Though in my book, the more garlic, the better.) Both AHD and OED give only the 'section' meaning of <I>clove</I>.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-23312121583490998742007-03-23T01:55:00.000+00:002007-03-23T01:55:00.000+00:00I was curious about the anonymous comment that the...I was curious about the anonymous comment that the word in Welsh sounds similar to the word <I>jibbons</I>. I can only imagine that jibbons is a borrowing from the Welsh <I>sibwnsyn</I>. An on-line Welsh dictionary translates that as "young onion," a term for the vegetable that I've never heard before. (Growing up in Western Massachusetts, I called them "scallions.")<BR/><BR/>By the way, I use the green part like chives, to add mild onion flavor to things like salads or baked potatoes, and I use the white part (minus roots) to add slightly stronger flavor to stir fries and pan sauces (though I usually throw some green in too because it looks nice.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-62710024576328156382007-03-23T01:44:00.000+00:002007-03-23T01:44:00.000+00:00Spanish onions aren't even red, I'd prefer to thin...Spanish onions aren't even red, I'd prefer to think of them as purple. They're sweeter than brown onions and don't make your eyes sting as much.<BR/><BR/>Whatever happened to a <I>clove</I> of garlic? A google images search tells me that a clove is ambiguous between individual segments and the whole damn bulb.<BR/><BR/>I use as much of the shallot as I can, which means I throw out the top... maybe ten percent? That's when the tips become a little too woody. The white bit is completely and absolutely the best tasting, most tender part.<BR/>As for shallot (I sometimes call them <I>eschallot</I>, by the way), a google image search shows how many different things have this name. We grow shallots very successfully, and I have the feeling that if you let them sit in the ground long enough, the bulb will grow into an onion, but they're the same plant. Just an intuition.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-76810687417489412912007-03-22T22:37:00.000+00:002007-03-22T22:37:00.000+00:00Scallions is definitely the prefered term in Irela...Scallions is definitely the prefered term in Ireland, though spring onion would be understood. I don't think I've ever heard the term green onions. I happly use any bit of the scallion (execpt the rooty bit). My mother would tend to say spring onion, but she's from the UK.<BR/><BR/>To me, spanish onions are large yellow slightly-mild onions. I think I got that from my mother too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-88437398317068629812007-03-22T20:52:00.000+00:002007-03-22T20:52:00.000+00:00Red onions have only been common in UK supermarket...Red onions have only been common in UK supermarkets in the last few years, and in my experience are always referred to as that.<BR/>"Spanish onions" is a term I recognise, though probably wouldn't use - but with defining characteristics being that they are mild flavoured, large and pale skinned.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-58960777076608953332007-03-22T18:29:00.000+00:002007-03-22T18:29:00.000+00:00Hm, I call a red onion a Spanish onion, but the Am...Hm, I call a red onion a <I>Spanish onion</I>, but the <I>American Heritage Dictionary</I> says they're yellow, and the <I>Oxford Dictionary of English</I> just says that they're large and mild, without mentioning colo(u)r.<BR/><BR/>There are plenty of people on the web using <I>Spanish onion</I> to mean <I>red onion</I>. Since I do it, I'd be tempted to say it's an American trait, but then there's that American Heritage definition. I've just checked three more dictionaries (1 BrE and 2 AmE). Two didn't have the term, and one (AmE) didn't mention colo(u)r.<BR/><BR/>But searching Google Images for "Spanish onion", I find that use of this term for red onions seems to be particularly common in Australia. (So goodness knows how I've acquired it!)lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-15259383922443712882007-03-22T18:10:00.000+00:002007-03-22T18:10:00.000+00:00I have worked in various restaurants here in Ohio,...I have worked in various restaurants here in Ohio, USA, and I'll have you know that restaurants use the entire scallion except the root hairs at the bulb end. The bulb itself is actually part of the root.<BR/><BR/>People here in Ohio use scallions and green onions pretty interchangeably to refer to the vegetable in question. Chive is an herb, and has a flavor I don't consider to be very similar to that of a a scallion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-23324040705872665952007-03-22T17:21:00.000+00:002007-03-22T17:21:00.000+00:00'course you cook the white bit. Persons of taste ...'course you cook the white bit. Persons of taste and discrimination call the plant a "sybie", by the way.deariemehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06654632450454559188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-19906009654666756682007-03-22T16:24:00.000+00:002007-03-22T16:24:00.000+00:00Garlic bulb sounds right to this BrE-man, never he...Garlic bulb sounds right to this BrE-man, never heard it called a corm.<BR/><BR/>How's about red onions? Spanish onions? The <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_onion" REL="nofollow">Wikipedia article for Spanish onion</A> redirects to Red onion, and then goes on to say red onions have "red skin and white flesh tinged with red, unlike Spanish Onions, which have yellow skins". Who calls what which?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-24990878897880781312007-03-22T13:39:00.000+00:002007-03-22T13:39:00.000+00:00Sorry, I should have said 'technical' rather than ...Sorry, I should have said 'technical' rather than 'correct'. I meant the more precise technical term rather than the vague 'piece' of garlic or 'whole garlic' which I might use casually, but wouldn't expect to see in a recipe or other culinary work.RWMGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04271851970303022440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-82667795196845868812007-03-22T13:18:00.000+00:002007-03-22T13:18:00.000+00:00While I use 'scallions,' I recognize 'green onions...While I use 'scallions,' I recognize 'green onions' as a synonym, and assumed that the green was used to signify that they were the onions whose greens one ate. There are also things called 'bunching' onions, which I believe are like scallions, but one takes cuttings like from chives, and leaves any subterranean portion to fend for itself.jhmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15024302748759726815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-31761876868493474022007-03-22T12:20:00.000+00:002007-03-22T12:20:00.000+00:00I try to keep this a descriptive rather than presc...I try to keep this a descriptive rather than prescriptive discussion, so I won't comment on "correctness", but I'd never heard the term <I>corm</I> before--and neither have many other people it seems, according to Google:<BR/><BR/><I>corm of garlic</I> = 6 hits<BR/><I>head of garlic</I> = 69,600<BR/><I>bulb of garlic</I> = 22,400<BR/><BR/><I>garlic corm</I> = 30 hits<BR/><I>garlic head</I> = 26,800<BR/><I>garlic bulb</I> = 87,700<BR/><BR/>I'd use <I>bulb</I> in gardening contexts, but <I>head</I> in cooking contexts, but the Google examples include cooking <I>bulbs</I>, at least (I haven't gone through the results in any depth.)<BR/><BR/><I>Corm</I> is treated as a botanical term in my dictionaries, and not particular to garlic.<BR/><BR/>There is a technical difference between corms and bulbs (here's a link to a <A HREF="http://cemadera.ucdavis.edu/newsletterfiles/Master_Gardeners_Articles4072.pdf" REL="nofollow">.pdf article</A> on the subject). But in everyday English, <I>bulb</I> is used as a generic term for corms, rhizomes and bulbs.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-58468199681484642672007-03-22T12:01:00.000+00:002007-03-22T12:01:00.000+00:00BTW, for garlic, are 'cloves' and 'corms' generall...BTW, for garlic, are 'cloves' and 'corms' generally recognised as the correct terms (cloves being the individual pieces of garlic and corms being the whole bulb)?RWMGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04271851970303022440noreply@blogger.com