I say shal-uht, he says shuh-lot. When Geoff started talking about shuh-lots one day I crinkled my eyebrows. Isn’t that what mothers do when they’re perplexed? I wasn’t really perplexed but I had always said shal-uhts. So when I decided to write about our garden shallots I figured I should check out the pronunciation and definition. It seems that both pronunciations are correct. Most online dictionary sources indicate shal-uht as the first choice but according to “The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations: The Complete Opinionated” By Charles Harrington Elster, shuh-lot was the only acceptable choice until the mid 20th century.
So there you have it, either way shallots are a wonderful addition to the larder, an alternative medicine in food (so I’ve read in my research) as well as a fantastic keeper! I don’t know if I should admit this but I’m still using shallots from the 2006 season (pictured above). In fact I used one today in the corn bread along with some frozen corn from this year’s crop. Granted, the shallots haven’t all survived – some have gone poof in the night (dried up to powder inside) and some have gone moldy but the one I used today was very firm with barely a tiny sprout in the center. They’ve been stored in a mesh onion bag in a kitchen cupboard.
Shallots are definitely worth growing, they’re tiny but mighty. If you already grow onions just add a little patch of shallots. If you don’t have the room for onions, shallots might just fill the bill.