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I love shallots. Shallots are one of the many joys Cooks Illustrated has introduced me to. Shallots are much milder than onion and garlic. They are perfect for flavoring salad dressings without overpowering them. They aren’t crunchy like onions when raw. My favorite recipe that uses shallots is Fast Buttery Peas. Thyme, butter, and shallot make an amazing trio. That recipe changed my feelings for vegetables forever.
The fork is to show their size; I don't eat them raw!
Anyway, enough about cooking shallots, this post is actually about growing them. I was startled to find shallot starters at the local nursery this spring. I had never heard of anyone growing them locally. The large bag of shallots I like to buy at Costco around Thanksgiving seems to claim that you really need to grow them in France.
Well, it isn’t true. I haven’t figured out the science of shallot growing yet, but my shallots did fine nonetheless. I waited until the green tops (very similar to onion) dried out and then I picked them.
I think next year I’d better pull them sooner! Although an old Cook’s Illustrated article claimed that “most shallots (whether they have one clove or four) are approximately the same size” (not true!) a more recent article acknowledged that a shallot can be small, medium or large. The test kitchen, they said, uses only small or medium shallots because almost all of their recipes call for less than 3 tablespoons minced shallots. (Cook’s considers the yield of a medium shallot to be about 3 Tbsp minced). My largest shallots yield much more than 3 Tbsp minced–I’m going to have to make some big batches of salad dressing!
I need to find a cheaper source for shallot starters, because even though shallots tend to be rather expensive at the grocery store, I don’t think this was much of a money saving venture when you figure in all the watering I had to do in our desert climate. However, a clear bonus is that my shallots are very fresh and firm and it is almost impossible to find shallots of this quality at the grocery store.
One final note: If you decide to grow your own shallots, you may be horrified to see how many slugs they attract. I was. Interestingly, the slugs did no damage to the shallots that I’m aware of. The tomatoes were another story!
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5 Responses to “Shallots”
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I, too, love shallots. We grew them quite successfully one year, but the starts were too expensive to make them cost effective and I didn’t figure out a way to store them well. Having a lot of shallots isn’t a blessing if you don’t have enough things to do with them, and having to throw them away is not only expensive (given what I paid for them as babies), but sad because I hate to throw away what I’ve grown.
As for the slugs: put out a lid, such as the lid of a mayonnaise jar, and fill it about half way to the brim with beer. It attracts slugs and snails and kills them. I have no idea why it does either, but I have been using this method for many years and it works marvelously. (And they don’t seem to be picky about brand names.)
The best deal in town for shallots and a lot of other fresh ingredients is Chao’s Trading Post,
77 N University Avenue, Provo, (801) 377-8845. They also have phenomenal deals on vinegars, rice wine, Thai curries, etc. I have started shopping there for produce before I go to other grocery outlets. You’ll love it.
Mark M.
I second Mark M’s advice: shop at Chao’s whenever you can: good deals on Asian ingredients and produce, including shallots. And on top of that, they are a very nice family running a small store that needs our support. So, shopping at Chao’s is not only less expensive, it is the right thing to do.
Pmpm, this was very useful. I’ve tried buying shallots around here with no luck. I didn’t know about the bag at Costco or Chao’s nor did it occur to me to try growing them (you would think it would since we tried growing garlic this year, but it wasn’t really a year for thinking . . . ). I’ve always bought tired, dry little things for way too much at the grocery store. I’ll try Chao’s and wait to hear your restaurant recommendation!
[...] tablespoons red or white wine vinegar 3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard 1 shallot, peeled 1 small garlic clove, peeled [I always use 2 medium size cloves] 2 teaspoons fresh thyme [...]