Onions and shallots: are they actually interchangeable?
You’re trying to faithfully follow a recipe when suddenly it calls for a ‘shallot’ and you only have onions at home. Or the other way around! What do you do when you’re not sure whether the two are completely interchangeable?
As someone who isn’t crazy about the taste of raw yellow onion (but does love flavour), I always keep alternatives like spring onions and shallots at home. And I do love rich, warming dishes such as hearty soups, the most delicious shakshuka and all kinds of curries, and of course I always start those with a generously chopped yellow onion. So, in that respect, I’m actually very well stocked in the onion department. But if you’re not (for once), this onion-shallot exchange rate could come in very handy!
Quite the pungent family
Because is a shallot actually an immature onion, as some people think? No. They do all belong to the allium genus, though, and happily share a place in the daffodil family. Shallots have a milder, sweeter flavour than yellow (or white) onions, and you can also detect a hint of garlic in them. They’re less pungent than their big cousin and work well when used raw, for example in dressings and salads, but also when slowly fried until crisp in oil and sprinkled over all kinds of things (save the oil and use it for something else!). Ultimate comfort food? Perfectly steamed white rice with crispy fried shallots, a fried egg and a dollop of sriracha.
Yellow and white onions are pungent and intensely aromatic, but become wonderfully sweet and rich when you caramelise or sauté them.
How to use them interchangeably
You can replace one with the other just fine when it comes to hot or cooked preparations. Just remember the following: 1 small onion = 3 small shallots. So if you would normally sauté an onion, you can use three shallots; and if you would fry a shallot, use one-third of an onion. Do chop the onion much more finely than you otherwise would, though; a shallot has thinner layers than an onion.
The other way around: using raw onion when the recipe calls for raw shallot is less advisable. There’s a good chance the flavour of the raw onion will overpower everything, even if you stick to the ratio mentioned above. In that case, just leave it out…
Also read:
- The ultimate onion guide
- Onion powder instead of onion—does that work?
- Easy-peasy: make your own onion powder
