Spring onion: nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Beta-carotene ranks 2nd of 31

   Spring onion greens carry 700 micrograms of beta-carotene per 100 g, ranking 2nd of 31 vegetables and 34th of 160 foods. The darker green tops hold the most.

2. 02

   Iron and magnesium rank 3rd

   Each 100 g supplies 3.09 mg iron and 67 mg magnesium, both 3rd among vegetables. Cooked as a sabzi, 100 g of greens gives a man 16 per cent of his iron need and a woman 11 per cent.

3. 03

   Fibre and folate

   Hara pyaz has 5.2 g fibre and 58 micrograms of folate per 100 g. That much hara pyaz covers 26 per cent of the folate a woman needs each day.

4. 04

   Vitamin C, best raw

   The greens carry 27.2 mg vitamin C per 100 g, 34 per cent of a man's daily need. Sprinkled raw at the end, as in fried rice or chaat, they keep it.

Values per 100 g of the edible portion. Source: Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad. Daily-need shares use the ICMR-NIN 2020 recommended dietary allowances for a 65 kg man and a 55 kg woman doing sedentary work (ICMR-NIN brief note). Nutrients IFCT did not analyse for this food are left out rather than shown as zero.

• Kanda paat bhaji in Maharashtra: chopped spring onions cooked with besan, green chilli and turmeric, eaten with bhakri.
• Lili dungri nu shaak in Gujarat: spring onions cooked with potato or with a coating of spiced gram flour.
• Peyajkolir torkari in Bengal: onion flower stalks cooked with potato and nigella seeds.
• Indo-Chinese fried rice and Hakka noodles: chopped greens tossed in at the end for colour and crunch.
• Spring onion paratha: finely chopped greens kneaded into atta with ajwain and green chilli.

The white bulbs and green tops of spring onion differ in more than colour. People with irritable bowel syndrome who react to onion often tolerate the green tops much better, because the fermentable carbohydrates that trigger symptoms are concentrated in the white part. Spring onions trap soil between their leaves and at the roots, so trim the root end, peel away the outer layer and rinse each stalk. They wilt quickly; wrap them in a dry cloth in the fridge or stand them in a glass of water.

Food composition is general information, not a diet plan. Anyone managing a medical condition should plan their diet with a doctor or a registered dietitian.

• Onion

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Garlic

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Celery stalk

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Pak Choi leaves

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Coriander leaves

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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