 | | Name: | shallot | | Plural names: | shallots |
| Description: | 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 which grows wild from Central to Southwest Asia. Other varieties of shallot are Allium cepa var. aggregatum (multiplier onions).
Unlike 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. Their flavor is perhaps more delicate than that of onions, perhaps more intense. Certainly it is distinctive. 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. |
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