Trader Joe’s Shallots (2 pk)
Item Purchased: Trader Joe’s Shallots (2 pk)
Location Purchased: Trader Joe’s / 44 E. Ontario St. / Chicago, IL
Price: $1.69 + tax
Purchased on: 08/01/07
Review: Shallots used to annoy me for no other reason than they reminded me of that annoying curly haired movie reviewer. Once I got used to their versatility, however, I forgot all about gimmicky reviewers (*what?*) and learned to love French imported produce. Though shallots are usually priced for personal chefs who don’t spend a cent of their own money on groceries, Trader Joe’s offers a small duet in a mesh bag for a reasonable price. Reminiscent of super-sized garlic and not quite an onion, shallots make a good substitute for the latter and a slightly sweet offset to the former. Fried up with the tofu scramble I made last night, these shallots added a strong and pleasant flavor to the dish. Anyone know of a place in Chicago that sells shallots imported from Asia? I’d like to contrast and compare.
Rating: 3.75 / 5
August 7th, 2007 at 4:46 am
I wish the shallots shipped to my part of the country looked like that. I very much enjoy the flavour imparted when cooking with them, but the ones that reach the stores in my area are so incredibly small that I frequently choose not to buy them since peeling the damn things just isn’t worth the combination of effort and price.
The shallots I’ve purchased here (Tucson, AZ) haven’t been much larger than a good-sized clove of garlic. Then again in the last head of garlic I purchased, most of the cloves were pretty much just slivers - and I bought the heartiest head I could find. I really wish I lived in a more agriculturally friendly environment. Then maybe I could just grow my own and bypass the whole store part of the deal.
Perhaps I should try TJ’s. Maybe the price would at least be low enough to convince me to give them a shot once more. (If their pricing is similar nationwide, it could be a good choice when compared with my usual grocery stores - which price a 2-pack of shallots closer to $3.00 + tax.)