Thread: onions vs. shallots

yes, I'm cruising through several cookbooks, hence all the questions.

According to fitday the carbs seem about even (I could be wrong, I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again, but I could be wrong about that!)

SO all you cooking gurus - whats the deal with shallots??????

Well...
Shallots have a different flavor than onions; sweeter, more subtle, less intense, even a little garlicky to me. They are a good choice for dishes where you want a little punch, but not the clobber that onion can give it. I use them in cream soups and fruit vinaigrettes alot 'cause they accent the flavor of the ingredients, without adding a really strong flavor of their own.

Or, there's this from a former chef-instructor of mine, "Shallots are just onions with a higher opinion of themselves."

You choose.

Onions versus shallots - my moneys on the onions, they're bigger and stronger!


Sorry I couldn't resist.

I'm with Trina - a milder version of onion with a hint of garlic to it. I love 'em so much I grow 'em in my yard!

Char

Trina, that's great!

I LOVE shallots. I do use onions here and there (esp. for things like French Onion soup, etc.) but mostly I use shallots.

I'm the queen of shallots and wine to make a sauce. SO many sauces start with this classic combo.

When you buy them, look for very firm, compact bulbs that DO NOT have any green sprouts coming out the top. Like an old head of garlic? Ya know? That's what happens when they get old.

Good tip Marcie, thanks!!!

Which also makes them PERFECT for planting in the garden!


Char

What's the difference in carb count? or is there one?

Not really, just count them like onions.

Per USDA, 1 TB chopped onion = 1 gm carbs. 1 TB chopped shallots = 1.68 gms carbs.

I wonder why shallots are so much more? Doesn't make too much of a difference to me since I use a tbs or 2 of shallot when I cook but would probably use 1/4 cup od onions or more.

I think it's a matter of the "chop" - If you "chop" an onion, that's probably going to be a little coarser than a "chop" of shallots. Shallots are so small in the first place that to chop them in an onion size it would still be too big. You would need to mince or finely chop.

And if you do THAT, you'll end up with more in the tablespoon because they'll be closer together, etc. and so you'll have higher carbs.

I would THINK (but, that could be dangerous ) that by weight, they are very similar.

I've been trying to look it up by 100g portions on the USDA site but I can't get it to work. ??? I don't know what's wrong with the site.