Good Question: What's the deal with Shallots?

Dear Kitchen,

I was making a recipe recently and it called for 5 thinly sliced shallots. As I started to cut and peel my shallots I realized that each one was made of two smaller shallots and then I got confused as to what the "five shallots" actually refers to. Is it like garlic where you count each individual clove or do you count the entire bulb or head or whatever you call it?

Thanks a lot,
Lauren

(To All Good Questions)

Dear Lauren-

Shallots are interesting little vegetables. Some people describe them, in terms of taste and function, as a cross between an onion and garlic, however they are indeed a member of the onion family. Shallots caramelize like an onion, although their mild flavor is closer to garlic. One nice thing about shallots is that they do not give one bad breath, the way onions and garlic do and they are more easy to digest. They have a brownish, papery skin however once you cut into a bulb of shallot you often find two, or three cloves. This is where it gets tricky when a recipe calls for a certain number of shallots, rather than a specific amount like "2 tablespoons, minced." A general rule of thumb is that "one shallot" refers to one shallot bulb, regardless of how many cloves are inside once it has been cut.

Comments (5)

Shallots are sweeter and more "lovely" than an onion - different taste.

A shallot is a shallot. You don't break them down as you do garlic into cloves.

They're wonderful.

posted by Jackie(the original one) on 2006-11-14 21:00:38

Funny - I was pondering shallots this weekend.

Because once again I used half an onion instead of a shallot! Since I've never used them, I don't know what I've been missing!

Mostly, it never occurs to me to buy them to have on-hand until it's too late.

posted by JenPDX on 2006-11-14 17:34:57

So glad you posted this - I have been wondering about this for years! I love shallots.

posted by Gluten-Free By The Bay on 2006-11-14 14:22:02

I love shallots, but hate peeling them! I've considered using the dip-in-boiling-water trick (as recently discussed with cipollini onions), but wonder if that's the right thing to do before sauteeing.

posted by Michelle of Montreal on 2006-11-14 14:37:59

Michelle, try slicing the shallot bulb in half length-wise, then slice off the root end, and then take off the rest of the peel. Still fiddly, but easier then trying to peel a whole shallot. I use these bad-ass grey shallots that are a real pain to peel. This technique makes it easier.

regards,
trillium

posted by trillium on 2006-11-15 16:30:38