That's Shallot! - Update

Jean - Plot 4

Well, I said I would give you an update to my shallot blog from April when my shallot plants looked like weedy spring onions.  I planted them in bunches of 5 or 6, but I think next year I will limit the bunches to 4 as a few of them were crowded out.  I am pretty pleased with the harvest though and they should last me right through the winter.

A couple of weeks ago we harvested them and left them on the plot on an incline to let the juices flow out so that they would dry ready for storage.  Today I brought them home for preparation.  First I trimmed the roots and brushed away any dry skin from the bulbs.  Then I plaited them ready for hanging.  I plait them as you would hair, introducing a new shallot with each crossover.  I also do this with my onions.  The only thing to do then is to tie them firmly at the top with string ready to hang.  I hang one bunch in the kitchen ready to use and the rest in a cool dry place.  These will last right into next Spring.
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Some people ask why I grow "banana" shallots as opposed to the little round ones.  The answer is simple; I am a lazy cook who hates spending hours pealing the fiddly round ones.  With the banana varieties pealing is easy.  Just take off the top and bottom, make an incision right the way down the length of the shallot and peal back the skin.  Shallots pealed in seconds.  Happy days!!
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