French chefs are tipping shallots as the “new onions”, following a survey by the British shallot industry’s marketing body, UKShallot.com.
The survey revealed the number of UK households buying shallots has more than doubled in the last two years, with almost £5m of shallots being consumed a year.
And while total volume sales of brown onions fell by three per cent last year, the shallot market grew by over 20 per cent.
The UK still has a long way to go to match French efforts, however, who reportedly eat 10 times as many despite having a similar population size.
Renowned French chefs, Michel Roux jr and Raymond Blanc have put their weight firmly behind the lesser-known allium.
Roux said: “The French recognise that shallots are extremely versatile so they use them in a greater variety of ways than the British. I would encourage British cooks to experiment with shallots, they really add another dimension to a recipe.”
Blanc also urged UK consumers to step-up their intake of shallots: “Shallots are unique, incredible and probably one of the most used vegetables in French cuisine. They enliven salads through their wonderful crunch and sharp flavour, they sweeten a slowly cooked stew and they form the very best of most French dishes.
The marketeers’ research found that 33 per cent of consumers believe that shallots and onions are the same.
But Roux was quick to dispel this myth: “Shallots are more highly perfumed and have a more delicate flavour than onions - a world apart from large brown skinned onions which can be full of water,” he said.
Despite his French origins, fellow chef Jean-Christophe Novelli has controversially switched allegiance to UK-grown shallots.
He said: “I usually use French shallots but I recently tried shallots grown in Bedfordshire where my new Novelli Academy is based. To find such quality on my doorstep was unbelievable and made me think again about using local suppliers.”
UKShallot.com chairman Paul Cripsey said with the new season’s crop now available now is the time for British consumers to heed the advice of the French chefs and buy local shallots.
He claimed that media exposure was helping raise awareness of the allium family: “The twofold rise in the number of households buying shallots is particularly heartening. I am hopeful that we’ll continue to see further growth - to have top flight chefs such as Roux, Novelli and Blanc encouraging consumers to try cooking with shallots can only be beneficial to our industry.”
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