Shallot wars
Mar 23rd, 2008 by Dani
A friend told me last week that a new supermarket that has opened in our local area was selling spring onions tagged as shallots. A pet hate for both of us. The confusion is exacerbated when talking across international lines as the names will change (not to protect the innocent). So I thought it worthwhile to clarify, particularly as both are ingredients I use a lot.
Spring onions - also known as scallions or green onions. Long green things that look like a baby leek. In what I can only consider a case of supereme idiocy, (and please someone let me know if there is a decent reason), the New South Wales Department of Primary Industry has decided to call them shallots. Thus renaming shallots as eschalottes. Give me strength.
Shallots - a small brown bulb that looks much like a little onion. Some are round in shape, some are longer and thinner. They have a milder taste than onions and add a real kick to your cooking. Very prominent in French and Asian cooking.
I always use the terms spring onion for the former and shallot for the latter. Always. Because I have issewes.
Just to make it worse.
I call the little brown bulbs eschallots. I call the long green (bit like oversized chives) things with no bulb on the bottom shallots, and spring onions are like shallots, but they have the onion bulb on the bottom.
But, I don’t even actually like onions (of any sort)
so what would I know?