Scallion Paste
Scallion paste is a semi solid seasoning concentrate made from Allium fistulosum, the Welsh or spring onion, in which the fresh bulb and green leaf are milled to a fine puree and then cooked in oil so that the raw alliaceous note develops into the fried onion character used in Chinese cooking. It is a thick brown to green brown paste with visible fine particles, the industrial equivalent of the fried scallion base prepared at the start of a home dish.
The raw aroma of scallion comes from thiosulphinates and thiosulphonates released when alliinase acts on S alk(en)yl cysteine sulphoxides in cut tissue. Heating destroys the enzyme and rearranges those unstable compounds into sulphides, dithiins and thiophenes, which give the cooked material a rounder and far more stable profile than the fresh vegetable. The remaining sugars and amino acids brown at the same time, adding Maillard depth.
The paste is oil continuous rather than water continuous, so it disperses in fat phases and in hot sauces but needs shear or an emulsifier to go into a cold aqueous system. Water activity is held down by the oil and salt content, and the product is chilled or frozen in trade because the residual moisture and the low acidity leave it vulnerable to spoilage at ambient temperature.
We source bulk Scallion Paste from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Fujian. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Flavours and Aromas
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Thick paste, green brown to amber brown, with fine uniform particulate |
| Odour and Taste | Characteristic fried scallion, no rancid, burnt or fermented note |
| Identification | Sensory profile conforms to retained reference sample |
| Scallion Solids | Not less than 35% as declared per grade |
| Oil Content | 30 to 55% depending on grade |
| Moisture | Not more than 40% |
| Sodium Chloride | 2 to 8% as declared |
| pH | 5.0 to 6.5 |
| Peroxide Value of Oil Phase | Not more than 5.0 meq/kg |
| Lead | Not more than 0.5 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | Not more than 0.5 mg/kg |
| Total Plate Count | Not more than 10,000 cfu/g |
| Yeast and Mould | Not more than 100 cfu/g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Trade grades separate on cook level and on composition. A light cooked or blanched paste keeps a green colour and a fresh pungent note for use where the scallion should read as a vegetable. A fried or browned grade is taken further in hot oil until the colour turns amber brown and the profile is dominated by fried onion, and this is the grade used as a base for noodle sauces and dressings. Ratios of white bulb to green leaf are specified separately, since the bulb carries most of the sulphur pungency and the leaf carries the green and grassy notes.
Beyond cook level, grades differ by oil type, most often soybean, rapeseed or a blended vegetable oil, by salt content where salt is used as a preservative hurdle, and by particle size from a coarse minced cut down to a smooth homogenised puree. Chilled, frozen and retorted ambient stable versions are all traded, and some suppliers offer a concentrated grade in which part of the moisture has been removed under vacuum so that the dosage in a finished sauce can be lowered.
Applications
- Instant noodle oil sachets, where fried scallion is the dominant aroma of the seasoning oil
- Chinese style stir fry and wok sauces produced in central kitchens, replacing the fresh aromatics step
- Scallion oil noodle dressings and cold noodle sauces, used as the flavour base rather than a garnish
- Dumpling, wonton and bun fillings, distributing scallion character evenly through a meat farce
- Marinades and tumbling brines for roast chicken, pork and prepared meats
- Savoury bakery fillings such as scallion pancake and flaky pastry, carrying flavour into the laminated fat
- Retorted soups, congee and ready meals, where fresh scallion would lose its character during sterilisation
- Compound seasoning pastes and hotpot bases, contributing the allium layer alongside garlic and ginger
- Frozen prepared foods and steamed dim sum, added to the filling before freezing
China Manufacturers of Scallion Paste
Top Scallion Paste manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Scallion paste is treated as a compound food ingredient rather than as a food additive, so it carries no E number and requires no additive authorisation in either the United States or the European Union. Its components, the vegetable itself, edible vegetable oil and salt, are ordinary foods, and any additive used as a preservative or antioxidant must be permitted for the category of the finished product and declared in the ingredient list. In the United States the material is manufactured under the preventive controls requirements for human food, and an ambient stable retorted grade in a hermetically sealed container falls under the low acid canned food regulations with a filed scheduled process.
Pesticide residues on the incoming vegetable are the main compliance point, controlled against the maximum residue limits of the destination market, with Codex maximum residue limits providing the international reference. Labelling follows the compound ingredient rules of the market, and the allium content is declared as the named vegetable rather than as a flavouring.
Manufacturing Process
Fresh scallion is received, trimmed of root and damaged leaf, and washed in several stages to remove field soil, which is the main source of both grit and microbial load. The material is cut, then milled or passed through a colloid mill to the specified particle size. For a light cooked grade the puree is blanched briefly to inactivate alliinase and peroxidase before oil is added. For a fried grade the puree is charged into a jacketed cooking kettle with heated vegetable oil and held with agitation until the target colour and aroma develop, a step that both cooks the material and drives off a large part of its water.
The cooked mass is standardised with additional oil and salt to the declared composition, homogenised for uniformity, then either filled hot and chilled rapidly, filled and retorted for an ambient stable grade, or plate frozen in blocks. Aroma is lost by evaporation during the cook, so a portion of condensed volatiles is sometimes recovered and returned to the batch. Filling is done under nitrogen where oxidative rancidity of the oil phase sets shelf life.
