what the crap is a shallot?

Answer 1

A member of the onion family, looking rather like large cloves of garlic. Shallots are used to infuse savory dishes with a mild, delicate onion flavor. Refrigerate for not more than 1 week to maintain maximum flavor.

Answer 2

What a shallot is not:

It is not a long green onion that is a scallion
It is not an onion but it looks like huge garlic
It is not garlic but looks like it

What a shallot is:

A cooking ingredient that tastes a little like a combination of both onion and garlic. They can be strong or mild. Usually they are mild.

What you can use a shallot in:

Not cherrios or rice krispie treats or chocolate chip cookies
Soup, especially French Onion along with leeks and yellow onions
Sauces that are cream based. Shallots get lost in tomato sauce because they are usually mild in flavor.
Delicately flavored dishes where you don't want a strong onion or garlic flavor.
If you are out of onion and have shallots, you can use them as a substitute but you would not use them to substitute for garlic.

Answer 3

Shallot, as the word is commonly used, or eschallot in some countries, refers to two different Allium species of plant. The French grey shallot or griselle, which has been considered to be the "true shallot" by many, is Allium oschaninii, a species that grows wild from Central to Southwest Asia. Other varieties of shallot are Allium cepa var. aggregatum (multiplier onions), also known as A. ascalonicum. [1]

The name of the shallot derives from the name of the city of Ashkelon (Latin ‘Ascalon’) in ancient Canaan, in Italian its name is "scalogno".


Shallots for sale in Southern FranceUnlike onions where each plant normally forms a single bulb, shallots form clusters of offsets, rather in the manner of garlic.

Shallots are extensively cultivated and much used in cookery, in addition to being pickled. Finely sliced deep-fried shallots are used as a condiment in Asian cuisine. Shallots tend to be considerably more expensive than onions, especially in the United States where they are almost exclusively imported from France.
Shallots are propagated by offsets, which, in the Northern Hemisphere are often planted in September or October, but the principal crop should not be planted earlier than February or the beginning of March. In planting, the tops of the bulbs should be kept a little above ground, and it is a commendable plan to draw away the soil surrounding the bulbs when their roots have taken hold. They should not be planted on ground recently manured. They come to maturity about July or August, although they can now be found year-round in supermarkets.

Similar to onions, raw shallots release chemicals that irritate the eye when sliced, resulting in tears. See onion for a discussion of this phenomenon.

Shallots are particularly high in anti-cancer compounds. [2]

In Australia, the Scallion plant is also commonly referred to as a shallot. Allium oschaninii is commonly referred to as a French Shallot.

There is a very specific region of shallot gardening in southeastern Ghana.

Answer 4

Shallot, as the word is commonly used, or eschallot in some countries, refers to two different Allium species of plant. The French grey shallot or griselle, which has been considered to be the "true shallot" by many, is Allium oschaninii, a species that grows wild from Central to Southwest Asia. Other varieties of shallot are Allium cepa var. aggregatum (multiplier onions), also known as A. ascalonicum. [1]

The name of the shallot derives from the name of the city of Ashkelon (Latin ‘Ascalon’) in ancient Canaan, in Italian its name is "scalogno".


Shallots for sale in Southern FranceUnlike onions where each plant normally forms a single bulb, shallots form clusters of offsets, rather in the manner of garlic.

Shallots are extensively cultivated and much used in cookery, in addition to being pickled. Finely sliced deep-fried shallots are used as a condiment in Asian cuisine. Shallots tend to be considerably more expensive than onions, especially in the United States where they are almost exclusively imported from France.
Shallots are propagated by offsets, which, in the Northern Hemisphere are often planted in September or October, but the principal crop should not be planted earlier than February or the beginning of March. In planting, the tops of the bulbs should be kept a little above ground, and it is a commendable plan to draw away the soil surrounding the bulbs when their roots have taken hold. They should not be planted on ground recently manured. They come to maturity about July or August, although they can now be found year-round in supermarkets.

Similar to onions, raw shallots release chemicals that irritate the eye when sliced, resulting in tears. See onion for a discussion of this phenomenon.

Shallots are particularly high in anti-cancer compounds. [2]

In Australia, the Scallion plant is also commonly referred to as a shallot. Allium oschaninii is commonly referred to as a French Shallot.

There is a very specific region of shallot gardening in southeastern Ghana.

Answer 5

Shallot, as the word is commonly used, or eschallot in some countries, refers to two different Allium species of plant. The French grey shallot or griselle, which has been considered to be the "true shallot" by many, is Allium oschaninii, a species that grows wild from Central to Southwest Asia. Other varieties of shallot are Allium cepa var. aggregatum (multiplier onions), also known as A. ascalonicum. [1]

The name of the shallot derives from the name of the city of Ashkelon (Latin ‘Ascalon’) in ancient Canaan, in Italian its name is "scalogno".

Answer 6

A shallot is an onion. But it's a bit smaller and more oval like.

Answer 7

Shallots are another name for Green onions or Spring onions.

Answer 8

A shallot is a small type of onion that is a bit sweet and perfect for gravies.

Answer 9

shallots are great for cooking/grilling with meats. Its a type of onion.

Answer 10

It's a veggie closely related to the onion.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
shal·lot /ˈʃælət, ʃəˈlɒt/ [shal-uht, shuh-lot]
–noun 1. a plant, Allium cepa aggregatum (or A. ascalonicum), related to the onion, having a divided bulb used for flavoring in cookery.
2. the bulb of this plant.