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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?

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7 Answers 7

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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.

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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
    Commented Aug 21, 2023 at 18:21
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    is this regional? never had fibrous green part of leek myself
    – jk.
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 8:16
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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 ♦
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 8:21
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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
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 12:23
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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
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 15:27
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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.

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    Green parts only?? This boggles my mind.
    – Sneftel
    Commented Aug 21, 2023 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 ♦
    Commented Aug 21, 2023 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
    Commented Aug 21, 2023 at 12:57
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    As a German I disagree with the „green only“ statement.
    – Stephie ♦
    Commented Aug 21, 2023 at 19:35
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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
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 14:28
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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.

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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
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 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
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 12:25
  • I discovered today that I shouldn't be using the green parts!  So I'm very happy to learn a few minutes later that I haven't been doing it wrong all these years after all :-)
    – gidds
    Commented Jun 7 at 12:41
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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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  • Fantastic answer and the best answer here.
    – Fattie
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 12:26
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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.

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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
    Commented Aug 21, 2023 at 12:57
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    @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
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 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
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 19:31
  • @dbmag9 this is the reason I always understood the tops of leeks were discarded.
    – Bob Tway
    Commented Aug 23, 2023 at 10:21
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    Solving every rinsing problem like this will lead to a very wasteful kitchen. Are you not concerned with food waste?
    – AkselA
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 3:55
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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.
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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
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 3:52
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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.

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