The shallots you bought at the grocery will probably work fine. The
yellow ones are probably "Dutch" shallots wich are some of the largest
and will last a very long time in storage. In Ohio I plant them in the
fall with garlic though you might do OK planting in the spring. They
don't like weeds but otherwise have few problems. As far as tasting
like onions or tasting like garlic...they taste like shallots.
I've grown them from seed before too. They are available from some
seed catalogs. Those I planted in the spring.


On Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:45:56 -0500, Ohioguy wrote:


"Unless you are a gardener, shallots are more commonly known as onions.
Used in the same way, and having the same taste......"

That's an actual quote from a website, gardenzone.info, and I don't
think I really agree.

Now I've been experimenting with alternatives to Onions, mostly
because my wife hates the smell. I tried leeks, then some purple
shallots from the local grocery. What I found was that she hates the
smell of all of them, so we are having a vented hood installed over the
stove.

Anyway, I love cooking with onions, but now I think I may prefer the
flavor of shallots. I was wondering if anyone could point me to a bulk
source? I'm thinking of planting a roughly 4' by 10' area with them.
Thanks!