The Family Kitchen Gardener (1856)/Shallot
SHALLOT.
A’llium ascalònicum.—Eschalote, Fr.—Schallote, Ger.
It will be observed from the botanic name of Shallot, that it is classed with the Onion tribe. It was introduced from Asealon, a town of Syria, and frequently is known under the name of Eschalots. They have a strong but not unpleasant odor, and are preferred to the Onion for various purposes of cookery and seasoning. Many epicures consider them the best seasoning for a good old-fashioned dish of beef-steaks. Though it has been two hundred years in cultivation, very little of the article is used in this country, unless by the French.
Culture.—The roots are bulbous, and increase readily by offsets, the largest of which are most proper for use. The bulbs are oblong and irregular, seldom becoming large; generally growing in clusters, they do not swell like roots that grow singly. The soil best adapted for their growth is a light, rich, sandy loam, though they will thrive well in any rich soil that is not saturated with moisture. Plant them in October or November, in drills, six inches apart, three inches deep, and about eight inches from row to row. If a quantity of soot be mixed with the soil, it will greatly prevent the attacks of a maggot, which frequently commits depredations upon this plant. Early in Spring draw away the earth from the bulbs, leaving them entirely naked; nothing further is required than to keep them free from weeds. In July the tops begin to turn yellow, when the roots can be taken up and dried in the same manner as Garlic. If the planting is delayed till Spring, the bulbs will not require to be put under ground, but merely planted as Onion sets, which their culture very much resem-