The Green Onion Trick

Do you remember that sort of obscure (because it wasn't Disney) mid-90s cartoon movie called A Troll in Central Park? It was always one of my favorites growing up since I had this obsession with the crazy haired, jewel-bellied troll dolls and stories like The Secret Garden. Anyway, the movie stars this cute little troll fellow named Stanley who literally has a green thumb and just an incredibly limitless talent for growing greenery. This, in a nutshell, turned out to be the person I married. Justin's way more handsome of course, but definitely every bit as talented in the garden.

I digress.

On top of teaching me pretty much everything I know about how to keep plants alive and healthy, he's shown me this super awesome trick with green onions that I think every onion lover should know about. 

If you're a bit older and/or a more experienced cook, this is probably (maybe? hopefully!?) something you already know; I've only really, truly known my way around a kitchen for a couple years now and this absolutely blew my mind. 

I love to cook with garlic, shallots, and onions--green onions, especially, as a finisher on top of scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, or a yummy squash and mushroom saute, for example. Also, in my opinion, you simply cannot have Southern fried catfish without a green onion to munch on with it. If you're a big fan of the genus Allium in your cooking like we are, what I'm about to explain to you (is the suspense killing you yet?), should definitely prevent you from having to buy more green onions the next time you go to the grocery store or farmer's market. I know they're not a big blow to the ol' pocketbook as it stands, but every little bit helps, right? Unless, of course, you're really on top of things and just grow your own to begin with. 

Anyway, I'm talking about how to regrow your green onions using only a glass of water!

If you're the kind of person who's never been able to keep a plant alive in your whole entire life, rest assured, this is something you can totally handle. 

So let's say it's Saturday morning and you and your beloved are cooking up a fabulous weekend breakfast starring some delightfully fluffy scrambled eggs, topped with your favorite grated melting cheese, maybe some sauteed mushroom slices or diced garden tomato, and DEFINITELY some chopped green onion for that perfect bite and added fresh flavor. 

Using your kitchen shears or a sharp knife, you start at the top of the green onion and cut the cute bright green rings until you start getting close to the bulbous white root end. You sprinkle what you've cut over your finished eggs and you're almost ready to sit down and enjoy breakfast... 

Now STOP! Before you toss this leftover, seemingly useless bottom section of green onion in your compost bucket or, worse yet, throw it away, just fill a spare drinking glass (or mason jar, shot glass, storage container, bowl, etc.) with enough cool to room-temperature water to submerge the white bottom of the green onion in, leaving at least a little bit of it to stick out of the top unsubmerged.

Next, if you have a plant stand or table by a window or a nice kitchen windowsill, place your green onion container there. Wait a day or two and you'll start to notice some magic happening: your onion greens are growing back! 

We've retired a couple of shot glasses for this purpose, as those whiskey-fueled college nights are long over. We keep ours on a living room plant stand by Justin's little air plant terrarium. The onions on the left have been regrowing for five days; those on the right have been going for two days. 

Keep an eye on them over the next few days as they grow, and be sure to change out the water a few times because if you don't you'll find that it will get kind of slimy or smelly and may even start to attract some little gnats. Think of it as the same thing as getting your daily intake of required water, or giving your potted plants a fresh drink as needed--it's important!

Once your greens get to a height you're ready to mow back down for a tasty dish (this should happen in a week, give or take a few days), pull your onions out of the water and use them as if you'd just plucked them from the garden or brought them home from the market. 

PRETTY COOL, HUH!? I think so. :)

You just did yourself a massive favor, and it only took you a minute or two to set it into motion. 

Just a few things to keep in mind and a little recap because, as far as I know, this isn't really an exact science:

• You don't *have* to keep your green onion container in sunlight, but it certainly seems like they grow back stronger and faster if you do. I've never attempted to grow them back in a dark closet or anything like that, so let's not get TOO crazy. I would definitely recommend placing them in a spot that gets some sun, though.  
• You can grow the greens back from the same root base multiple times, but the flavor and overall integrity of them will be weaker each additional time. The first regrowth, though, has all the flavor of a fresh green onion. 
• Don't forget to change out the water in your container! If it's getting smelly or attracting bugs, you aren't keeping the water fresh enough. Clean, fresh water = happy plants.
• Curious house cats will probably want to check this magic out for themselves. You might want to put your onion container in a place the cat can't get to, to avoid spills/ruined onions. 
• If your greens have gotten plenty tall, but you're not ready to use them yet, just pull them out of the water and store them in the fridge. 
• There's no real limit to the number of onion bases you can put in your container, but you may find yourself needing to replace the water faster if you're trying to revive a mass onion-o-cide. 
• You can also use this method with the bases of romaine lettuce, garlic greens, fennel, and leeks!

So go give it a try! It's basically fool-proof and will only take a couple minutes of your time. 

I hope you found this as awesome and mind-blowingly simple as I did. 

Happy growing,

Cara