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-   -   best shallot varieties (http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=13473)

Ruth_10 February 16, 2010 08:35 PM

best shallot varieties
 
I was browsing one of the catalogs today and the shallots caught my eye. Many people rave about them in cooking. I've never grown any and haven't a clue about the best varieties or tricks of growing them.

Any thoughts?

.

mjc February 16, 2010 09:18 PM

Growing them is pretty similar to growing onions...

Just about any variety is good. Some of the new hybrid/seed producing varieties are not quite as 'flavorful' as the bulb grown/clonal ones...but they aren't 'bad'. Prisma would be a good one to try.

The nice thing about shallots, even the hybrid ones, is once you get some going you can save some to plant the next season...from the bulbs.

salix February 18, 2010 01:31 AM

Ruth, last year I grew a hybrid "Ambition" (round shaped)- they are HUGE! Very nice, good taste and are keeping very well. They grew as well as regular onions, had no disease or pest issues at all. This year I am trying a torpedo-shaped variety, again a hybrid, which is supposedly very tasty. I spent some time looking for an open-pollinated variety, but no luck so far.

riceke February 18, 2010 01:58 PM

How Huge?
 
[quote=salix;157956]Ruth, last year I grew a hybrid "Ambition" (round shaped)- they are HUGE! Very nice, good taste and are keeping very well. They grew as well as regular onions, had no disease or pest issues at all. This year I am trying a torpedo-shaped variety, again a hybrid, which is supposedly very tasty. I spent some time looking for an open-pollinated variety, but no luck so far.[/quote]

Ruth, I am curious about "Ambition's" size. I grew shallots (can't remeber the variety) several years in a row a while back but was unable to get any bulbs lager than a clove of garlic. It may have been that in my climate (Georgia) I should have started them in the Fall rather than Spring. I finally gave up, since it took a lot of effort peeling enough of them to cook with. I saw Ambition advertised but couldn't tell how large of a bulb it produced.

riceke February 18, 2010 02:01 PM

Salix.... Sorry that I addressed my previous post to Ruth...my first time posting here. I meant it for you.

salix February 19, 2010 01:42 AM

Riceke - sorry to get back to you so late at night. I believe that "Ambition" was described as approx. 2 inches in the catalogue; however most of mine were at least 3" or more (my husband still can't distinguish them from smallish onions). They also only seemed to split into 2 or 3 individual shallots per bulb (I don't think my terminology is quite right) and are very easy to peel, slice or dice or any other prep for cooking. Will be growing it again this year, along with a torpedo shaped hybrid named "Banana". Am still trying to locate an open pollinated variety - for some reason alliums from seed do much better up here (at least in my garden) than sets - my theory is that sets are all set to produce seed instead of bulking up to furnish my storage room.

riceke February 19, 2010 08:30 AM

Thanks salix for the response...I'll give Ambition a try. Do you remember where you got the seed? No problem if you don't I can google it.

Tormato February 19, 2010 04:31 PM

"French Gray" (a generic term?) is said to be the best.

I've never seen 'em, let alone tasted 'em.:(

Tormato

Ruth_10 February 20, 2010 10:10 PM

Thanks, all. Your responses give me a place to start. Salix, I just now found a few shallots listed in the SSE yearbook. They don't have their own section, even within the onion section.

beeman February 21, 2010 09:51 AM

We grow two types of shallots. Ambition for cooking, then a smaller variety of a purple type for making pickled onions, English style.
The Ambition we start from seed, about now, and the purple we plant in the fall to winter over.
The Ambition are the best for storage, must try planting established bulbs to see what they do.

kygreg February 21, 2010 08:26 PM

Ok a little off topic here, but excuse the garden humor, I don't beans about shallots except they are sort of onions in garlic form. How do you use them in cooking? Does anyone have a great recipe using them. I have never grown them but planted about 20 bulbs today. Thanks

beeman February 21, 2010 08:50 PM

[quote=kygreg;158411]Ok a little off topic here, but excuse the garden humor, I don't beans about shallots except they are sort of onions in garlic form. How do you use them in cooking? Does anyone have a great recipe using them. I have never grown them but planted about 20 bulbs today. Thanks[/quote]
Use them in place of Onions,. They're not so harsh, slightly sweeter.
Peeled and stored in Malt vinegar for a few months, they are delightful with crusty bread and a good strong cheese.

kygreg February 21, 2010 10:06 PM

Thanks beeman. Will try that.

lowlylowlycook October 23, 2010 01:11 PM

This is pretty late but, IMO, one of the best things you can do with shallots is slice them thin then deep fry till golden brown. Toss them on top of cooked spinach or on top of some Pad Tai, ect. ect.


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