dutch vs french shallots

[Ed Stuart]

Hi,

What's the difference between Dutch & French shallots?

Thanks, Ed

[Pat Kiewicz]

The Dutch have cleverly figured out how to grow shallots from seed. The French insist the results are not *really* shallots -- real shallots are only grown in France, from sets.

[Ed Stuart]

[Pat Kiewicz]

None that I could really tell. I grew shallots once from seeds and several times from sets. I suspect that there might be more difference between the same type of shallot grown in different soils than there would be between the different types grown in the same soil.

[Stan Goodman]

The greatest difference is that France has found that it is good for its economy to insist upon legally binding geographical appelations for things that it grows. For example, it ain't champagne if the same grapes are grown elsewhere in the same conditions; it ain't rocquefort if the milk is inoculated with the same microorganism in a similar cave elsewhere, and it ain't a shallot if the bulb is not a native of la Belle France. Shallots come in various sizes and shapes, but are indistinguishable in ways that count in the kitchen or on the table.

[ellis]

That's not working out well for France's wine industry.

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[Stan Goodman]

That's because the non-European market has enough sense to associate names with wine (and cheese) product type, rather than with neighborhood. The EU, of course, enforces the geographical limitations wherever its writ runs.