Dutch Shallot Allium cepa (Aggregatum)

LATIN NAME: Allium cepa Aggregatum Group

COMMON NAME: Shallot

The shallot forms its clusters of small, copper-skinned bulbs, and the round, white flower heads rise on the hollow stems. The low, clump-forming, bulbous plant carries the narrow, tubular, grey-green leaves and the round, dense heads of the small, white or pale-lilac, star-shaped flowers through the early summer, one of the fine, steady sights of the kitchen garden, to be followed by the clusters of the small, copper-skinned, pointed bulbs beneath the ground. The bulbs have a very long record as the fine, mild onion of the old tables, and the plant is a fine, historic presence of the kitchen garden. It is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, rich ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The shallot is a historic subject of the plant science, and the copper-skinned bulbs keep showing up in the work on the bulb crops. The way the clusters of the small, copper-skinned, pointed bulbs form beneath the ground has been examined closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the bulb crops, the allium group and the members of the onion family. The tubular leaves and the clump-forming habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the shallot is a regular subject of the work on the small bulbs of the cool world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The shallot is a fine, historic plant of the kitchen garden. The clusters of the small, copper-skinned, pointed bulbs have a very long record as the fine, mild onion of the old tables, the bulbs chopped into the sauces, the dressings and the warm dishes of the old kitchens, with the fine, gentle bite, while the round, dense heads of the small, white or pale-lilac flowers rise through the early summer, drawing the bees. The plant is one of the fine choices for the kitchen garden, the herb bed and the study collection, and it has been written about in the culinary and the agricultural papers for the copper-skinned bulbs and the very long history. It is a fine, historic plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, rich garden.

Give the young plants the deep, moist bed, and the clusters of the small bulbs will come in the first season.

To grow the shallot from seed, sow the small, black seeds over the damp seed tray and press them in, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings push through within a couple of weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the deep, moist, rich ground, the clusters of the small bulbs will come through the season.

Uses: Culinary/Medicinal
(Multiplier onion) Pleasant onion flavour. Orange-yellow skin, white flesh. Excellent keeper.