Scallions (aka green onions) are a great ingredient to add to your dishes either as a garnish, or a component of the recipe. If your recipe calls for onion, this could be a more subtle substitute. Vegetables are expensive though, and anything you can do to get more out of your ingredients is always a welcome tip.
When you’re cutting your scallions, start from the tip (not the root) and cut your way down to the white part and stop. If you take the white parts and stick them in a cup of water submerging the roots and placing them in a sunny spot on your sill, your scallion will grow back in a few days giving you another serving of this wonderful vegetable. The outer layers you’ll notice will also wilt as it regenerates. This is normal as it grows from the inside out and it naturally sheds it’s outer layers as it grows. Change the water regularly, every three or four days or so to prevent too much muck from forming. You can do this about 3-4 times.
You’ll notice that each time it grows back, it grows back a little paler and a little more limp. This is because while it is regenerating, the plant itself is running out of food and starving – water, after all, has no nutritional value. To prevent this moderately, you can dissolve a little sugar into the water. If you want your scallion to continue to produce lively green stalks, add a little plant food to the water to replenish its food supply. You should be able to get a few more harvests, if not endlessly.
