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I watched several youtube videos where they show how to cut and cook leeks.

They all discard the greener-upper portion of the plant.

Why is that?

If I cook the upper portion will it be inedible?

user366312
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  • related: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/7075/can-i-use-the-green-part-of-leeks-for-stocks – rumtscho Aug 21 '23 at 12:53

7 Answers7

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Because these recipes are for the white part of the leek, no other reason.

There are recipes for leek-whites only, for leek-greens only, and for whole leeks. Which ones is used in your recipe is up to the people who created the recipe. Both parts are entirely edible and tasty, but they have a different flavor.

I have observed some regional differences in leek usage. Most French recipes tend to use white only, many German recipes use green only, and most Balkan recipes use both. This isn't based on any systematic study though, just on cooking recipes from these regions, and on talking with people coming from them, so it could be very skewed.

Interestingly, my German and French acquaintances assured me that in their families, the respectively other part of the leek was thrown out, and I think none of them was aware that it's edible, or rather that it's worth eating.

rumtscho
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    Green parts *only*?? This boggles my mind. – Sneftel Aug 21 '23 at 12:53
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    @Sneftel then we know which type of person you are: those who aren't aware that the green leek parts are worth eating :) – rumtscho Aug 21 '23 at 12:54
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    I mean, as worth eating as any vegetable. I can explain the French custom as minimizing textural contribution (combined with long buttery braising). I'm just imagining a German chef looking at the white part, shrugging, and tossing it in the bin next to the onion skins. – Sneftel Aug 21 '23 at 12:57
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    As a German I disagree with the „green only“ statement. – Stephie Aug 21 '23 at 19:35
  • @Stephie I didn't say that all Germans do it. But I have met more than one person from this persuasion, and grew leeks together with one of them. – rumtscho Aug 22 '23 at 08:20
  • In french cooking, the green part is not always thrown out, I've seen chefs keep it as strings, to tie a bouquet garni for example – Kaddath Aug 22 '23 at 12:28
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    A small empirical survey: The first 10 recipes on "chefkoch.de" containing "Lauch" and labelled as "German cuisine" all suggest it should be "washed and cut into rings" (or sometimes strips), but none specifies which part should be used. A Google search for `lauch welcher teil` ("Leek which part") reveals that out of the first 10 websites, 5 emphasize the green part can be consumed **as well**, 3 suggest using the **complete stalk**, another one advises to throw away the green, and the last doesn't specify which parts to use. The German default seems to be use the white parts just as well. – Schmuddi Aug 22 '23 at 14:28
  • A very well written answer. – Fattie Aug 24 '23 at 12:23
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In the US, England, and most other English-speaking areas, the dark green portion of the leek is fibrous and often has a "soapy" flavor which detracts from the flavor of the dish. It's not a good idea even to use those for vegetable stock, as the overall flavor is unpleasant.

Leek varieties grown elsewhere, such as Germany or Korea, have edible, better-tasting leek tops.

FuzzyChef
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    Note that this does not apply to the green parts of other alliums, such as scallions or garlic, which is perfectly edible if sometimes strongly flavored. – FuzzyChef Aug 21 '23 at 18:21
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    is this regional? never had fibrous green part of leek myself – jk. Aug 22 '23 at 08:16
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    -1 because of the unqualified assertion that the flavor would be unpleasant. It's a matter of taste, and millions of people enjoy the flavor. – rumtscho Aug 22 '23 at 08:21
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    @rumtscho: I may agree with you on taste, but this *does* answer the question. Millions may enjoy the taste, but the Youtube cooks in these video's are clearly not among them. – MSalters Aug 22 '23 at 12:23
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    @rumtscho quote some. I have never seen a recommendation to use the dark green parts. – FuzzyChef Aug 22 '23 at 15:04
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    @FuzzyChef I grew up using both parts, and everybody around me did so. As I mentioned in my answer, I have met people who use green only, but that seems to be rare, especially after the comments I saw. I don't have written quotations, and don't know where I'd find any in English. – rumtscho Aug 22 '23 at 15:07
  • "many German recipes use green only, and most Balkan recipes use both" according to your answer. But no links. – FuzzyChef Aug 22 '23 at 15:09
  • (doesn't have to be English, online translation works pretty well) – FuzzyChef Aug 22 '23 at 15:16
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    Yes, I have no links. Not all the information in the world is available on the Internet. The German information I have from talking to people, and the Bulgarian from growing up there. Nowadays, the recipes you find on Bulgarian web sites are generally translated from English or Russian, nobody bothers producing original content, so they don't reflect traditional Bulgarian cooking. But I assure you, I have eaten the whole leeks all my life, and that's also how everyone else cooked them when I was growing up. Our friends and relatives would have commented if we served them something unusual. – rumtscho Aug 22 '23 at 15:20
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    Well, in English, Italian, and French cookery -- and thus in "American" cookery -- the leek greens are considered undesireable and bad-tasting. It might even be due to the variety of leeks; I've noticed that Korean leek greens are perfectly edible, very different from the leeks at my local Oregon grocery store. – FuzzyChef Aug 22 '23 at 15:27
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    @FuzzyChef It is possible this is some sort of Brussels Sprouts/Belgian Endive situation where a plant that used to be inedible or an acquired taste has been cultivated to have a taste that's generally more appealing to more people. – Nzall Aug 23 '23 at 13:09
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    Never noticed a flavour issue, and the light green / yellow parts still rolled up in the core are fine. But the outer darker green leaves are tough as old boots. – nigel222 Aug 23 '23 at 15:17
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    For what it's worth, [this article about leek](https://www.ndr.de/ratgeber/kochen/warenkunde/Lauch-Zubereitung-Tipps-und-Rezepte,lauch112.html) published on NDR (public radio/TV broadcaster for northern Germany) says that both white and green parts have different flavour and both can be used separately. It also specifically mentions that dark green parts have a strong aroma and are perfect for vegetable soups. – kapex Aug 23 '23 at 23:25
  • Nzall: the ones commonly sold in the USA are still not edible. But it's quite possible that ones sold elsewhere are. – FuzzyChef Aug 24 '23 at 00:46
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    Answer edited to reflect that leeks from different places have varying degrees of edibility of the green parts. – FuzzyChef Aug 24 '23 at 00:49
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I was never taught to cook properly, and vegetables weren't really used in my home growing up, so, when I started cooking, I would always use the entire leek. It was only a couple years later that I found you're not supposed to use the green part of leeks.

I absolutely hate food waste, so I still use the green part of leeks. I don't cook with leeks all that often, but the green part tastes ok to me and I'm happy to use it in frittatas and soups. If you don't want to discard the green part of leeks, but you don't want to use it in your recipe, you can save it to make stock, or you can slice it very thinly, sauté it and use it on soups and stews.

LissaC
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    `you're not supposed to use the green part of leeks` as mentioned in many other comments, this is by no means an absolute statement. You can perfectly well eat all parts of the vegetable, and many people do. – AnoE Aug 22 '23 at 19:29
  • **"I found you're not supposed to use the green part of leeks"** Good news! That is completely, totally, wrong, Lisa. Whoever told you that is an idiot. I use the green all the time and everyone I know uses it all the time, and I've had it innumerable times in restaurants. – Fattie Aug 24 '23 at 12:25
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The upper greener part of the leek is the best part. It has the highest content in vitamins and minerals, and also has the most flavour. It can be a bit fibrous, so I prefer to slice it extra thinly.

Leek should be reasonably thick with a long white stem and fresh green leaves. The root base is cut off, and wilted, ugly leaves are discarded. The leek is split a little and rinsed well.

Note! Do not remove more than necessary of the green leaves, which are the most vitamin rich on the leek.

Use: Boiled, presented as asparagus, or together with various meat dishes, with gratins, and soups. Also raw in various salads. Leaves cut into fine ribbons can be used as garnish.

(My translation)

Source: Gyldendals store kokebok, Ingrid Espelid Hovig, 3rd edition, 1979.

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AkselA
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Leek tops, like the tops of most mature aliums, are tough and fibrous and have relatively little taste. Leek tops won't be inedible by any means, particularly if you slice them thinly, but the dish would likely have a better texture, or at least be about the same, if you left them out.

Sneftel
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    I would add to this that leeks often have soil between the layers, and discarding the top is a lot faster than carefully washing them. – dbmag9 Aug 21 '23 at 12:57
  • @dbmag9 soil in leeks is a big deal - it's really unpleasant. I find the most dirt is found between the well separated green part "leaves", and the compact white "stem". Cutting below the dirt-line removes too much good leek, so I try to wash them instead. This may vary from region to region depending on popular species and growing conditions. – AdamO Aug 22 '23 at 18:51
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    Removing the soil quickly goes easier if you split the whole plant lengthwise, and then kind of "rinse sideways" (i.e., let a strong jet water blow into the fresh cut), often that blows up the dirt rather nicely for me, together with a scrubbing motion of the hands. – AnoE Aug 22 '23 at 19:31
  • @dbmag9 this is the reason I always understood the tops of leeks were discarded. – Bob Tway Aug 23 '23 at 10:21
  • Solving every rinsing problem like this will lead to a very wasteful kitchen. Are you not concerned with food waste? – AkselA Aug 24 '23 at 03:55
  • @dbmag9 great point about the soil - it's a chore to get it all out! – Fattie Aug 24 '23 at 12:25
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There are three factors that I know of which contribute to this:

  1. The flavor of the whites and the greens is different. If the dish relies heavily on the leek for flavor, and it was intended to be made with the the whites, then it will taste different if you use the whole leek, or if you just use the greens. Which gets used varies by cuisine, though most usage I know of from continental Europe seems to prefer either the whites or whole leeks.
  2. The greens, especially the darkest green parts, are very fibrous on mature leeks, and this can have a nontrivial impact on texture in the final dish. If it’s something you’re going to purée anyway (say, German kartoffelsuppe) then this may not matter, but if they’re left whole it quite often will.
  3. It can be very difficult to find leeks that come out to exactly the amount you need for a given recipe, especially in parts of the world where they are not a staple. In these cases, unless you have some use for the rest of the leek, you’re stuck discarding some of it, and the second factor mentioned above means that the greens make the most sense to discard unless you need them in the recipe for some reason.
Austin Hemmelgarn
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  • Re. 3: The stem on its own will keep better than the leaves on their own. You can even propagate the stem like you would with scallion. If you don't need the whole leek, and it won't completely clash with the dish, it is better to start with the leaves and work your way down. – AkselA Aug 24 '23 at 03:52
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I wouldn't use the green parts directly in a dish (fibrous, not particularly tasty as mentioned by many above) but what I will do is freeze them, and add them to the pot whenever I'm making stock next.

piersb
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