Seed refining company De Groot and Slot have clarified all questions about the shallot below:
What is a shallot exactly?
A shallot is a spherical or ellipsoidal product that belongs to the Allium family. The shallot is closely related to the onion, just like chives and garlic. The shallot distinguishes itself from the onion, mainly with respect to the taste. When raw, the shallot is sharper of taste, but when it has been fried, the taste is much sweeter due to the high sugar content. During the process of frying, the sugars are caramelized, and thus cause the sweeter taste.
What are the differences between a seed shallot and a planting shallot?
Until the seventies, shallots were grown mainly vegetatively (from small bulbs of a mature shallot). These are the so-called planting shallots. In the seventies, De Groot and Slot started developing shallots that can be grown from seeds, together with their partner Bejo. In this process, the vegetative material has been used as a base for the refining programme. This innovative development has been very successful and now shallots are mainly produced from seeds.
Wat are the advantages of growing shallots from seed?
The production of shallots from seeds has several advantages. The most important of these is that the seed is naturally clean, while planting shallots might contain viruses or other diseases. The shallot seeds from De Groot and Slot are free of viruses and other diseases and prevent transfer of such infections to breeding grounds and to the next generation of shallots. In addition, growing from seeds is advantageous in the field of mechanization. The sowing of shallot seeds can easily be done with machines, while planting shallots have to be planted by hand. Another great advantage of seeds is that the seed can be stored for years under the right conditions, which cannot be done with planting shallots.
What are the similarities between seed shallots and planting shallots?
A shallot grown from seed is the same as a planting shallot. They cannot be distinguished from each other on the inside or outside. They have the same taste and they differ from onions in exactly the same way. They have the same spherical or ellipsoidal shape that is characteristic for shallots. The DNA profile is essentially the same of both shallots, but is significantly different from onions. The differences are only noticeable between individual varieties, just as every tomato variety has its own DNA characteristics. In the variety refining of shallots there is more development in the field of seed shallots than planting shallots. The newest introduced seed shallots are shaped a bit more ellipsoidal. This characteristic received extra attention during the refining processes.
Legal and regulatory information
In the legislations of the past few years, attention was paid to the appellation of shallots grown from planting shallots and or seed. The reason for this is the protest from French growers from Bretagne, who produce shallots in the traditional way, by vegetative multiplication and who feel wronged.
The following decisions have been made:
1990: The French legislation states that shallots can only be named shallots if they have been produced through vegetative multiplication.
2006: The European Court has decided: shallots can be produced from seeds. On the label for the consumers must be written if it contains “shallots from seeds” or in case of planting shallots “traditional shallots.” The latter is consequently used in France.
2007: The decision of the European Court is ratified by the French Ministry.