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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 7, 2015 12:18:45 GMT -5
Along with the garlic, I harvested my shallots yesterday. and one could have stayed in a lot longer, since it only had a couple green leaves, but I am off this week, and it was supposed to rain last night, and more likely tonight, and almost definite Wed., so I had to do it while it was sort of dry. The shallots were 3 different types...I think! LOL The ones I know - Holland Red - had totally turned browned, and were ready to dig. The other two were things I planted from the Asian market, and one flowered, so it is a cross, and could have stayed in the ground much longer, as it was just starting to turn. The other looked almost like a French shallot variety I grew years ago, with small, long cloves, which worried me, as that one got infested with some sort of underground beetle - the only shallot of mine that this ever happened with. I looked closely, and nothing on these, so that was good. Strange though, as nothing I planted looked like these - just normal looking shallots. Holland Red Shallot: Cross: French? Anyone know what these are? I still have some of my shallots from last season! A few heads of garlic, as well. I'll be using those for some Thai Nam Prik Pao, and crispy garlic and crispy shallots. Those are good things to use up old garlic and shallots in, as you really can't tell if you use very fresh!
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Post by restless on Jul 7, 2015 12:29:36 GMT -5
Wow! Amazing! I am jealous. I would love to grow shallots. Which variety is your favorite? How long do they store? How do you store them?
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 7, 2015 15:09:50 GMT -5
As I noted above, I still have some from last season, which I have had stored in my basement, for most of the time, in one or two of those mesh flats, though I bring up a good amount at a time and place them in a basket by the onions. Not sure how long they last, as I usually use up the old ones soon, though it's incredible how fresh some of them seem!
That Holland red, a.k.a. Dutch red, is my favorite. It is the fastest - I could have harvested it a couple weeks ago, probably - has a good flavor, and stores very well. I didn't have many to plant this year; what I'll do is plant most of what I harvested, so I don't have to plant unknown types from the market.
They are very easy to grow. I just plant a double row of garlic every year in early Nov., and when I run out of garlic, the rest of the 40' row gets planted with shallots! The shallots get planted about 3" deep, and about 6" apart, and mulched, like the garlic, and they pop up in early spring, sometimes before the garlic! Often, like this time, the Holland red has totally turned brown and drooped over by the time I harvest it, but it doesn't really matter, like with garlic - it still stores very well.
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 7, 2015 18:56:42 GMT -5
This was the first in many years I did not grow shallots (just didn't get to them) and now I have shallot envy.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 7, 2015 22:49:11 GMT -5
Given the amount of SE Asian food that I cook, shallots are one of those essential ingredients I HAVE to grow, along with garlic, hot peppers, and a bunch of herbs. Can't be without!
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camochef
Blooming
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Posts: 171
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Post by camochef on Jul 8, 2015 10:54:43 GMT -5
I also harvested a good amount of my shallots yesterday, along with some leeks, green onions and chives. Shallots look fine, green onions are getting a little large, Leeks are somewhat smaller than most years and chives are chives. I like to keep shallots in hanging baskets where they keep for at least 6 months or more. I also dehydrate them and make powdered shallots and shallot salt with them too. Will probably pull more later today or tomorrow, depending on weather.
Shallots are used in many recipes in this household also. Less than both, onions and garlic, both of which I use too. I love leeks, especially in soups, particularly potato-leek soup, (Vichyssoise). I make a version using cream cheese instead of heavy cream that's simply... sinfully delicious. Enjoy! Camo
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 8, 2015 13:48:37 GMT -5
My scallions are getting overgrown, too. I planted them in the row where my Metechi died off, and they got almost as large as the garlic plants. A couple nights ago I made a double recipe of Szechwan eggplant, and needed 16 scallions for that. 5 of those scallions was more than the equivalent of 16 store-bought scallions!
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Post by johnrf on Jul 8, 2015 13:55:44 GMT -5
I guess I'm getting ready to harvest my shallots. I've been "stealing" one here and there for a couple weeks. Should they be harvested like onions? When the tops are completely browned and fallen over?
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 8, 2015 13:59:38 GMT -5
I don't wait for the leaves to be completely brown with onions garlic or shallots. I find they are overdone by then and don't store as well. I harvest when quite a few are yellowing and/or brown (but there are some green ones still left)
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 8, 2015 21:27:28 GMT -5
I harvest my garlic when two leaves brown, but when tying them up to dry, there are always those few here and there that all of them browned on, and just the stalk is green. So I tie those up together, and label them "use 1st". However, I have never had problems with shallot storage when all of the stalks browned - when I harvest them with some very green, thick stalks, like the one variety I had this year, they were sort of undergrown, even though several leaves had browned. I just wanted to harvest all at once!
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Post by OregonRed on Jul 9, 2015 10:33:02 GMT -5
I don't like shallots :( I think they taste strange - like soap or plastic - I have tried them more than once, and at different times, in different things, nope still don't like them...
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