Rona Yuthasastrakosol wrote:
> I am currently living in a place where shallots are difficult to find
(and
> quite expensive when one can find them). I prefer to use shallots
rather
> than onions in things like chicken/tuna salad sandwiches, pico de
gallo,
> guacamole, etc. so I'm wondering if freeze-dried shallots might be a
good
> substitute for fresh shallots. I don't expect them to have as much
flavour
> as fresh, but do they at least have some flavour? Or are they a
complete
> waste of money? Anyone with experience using these things?

Shallot essentially embodies a very mild onion flavor with the
slightest hint of garlic. With the vast majority of recipes the white
portion of spring onions/scallions with a bit of garlic will
undetectably suffice. I will occasionally use shallots but only where
used raw, as in salads (tuna/salmon/egg)and in sandwiches (sardine),
and as a garnish for soups, very nice sprinkled atop a steaming bowl of
turtle bean soup.... I think cooking shallot wastes them, certainly a
waste of money. As for freeze dried, I consider all such products
strictly a convenience... as for their flavor worth the cost, only you
can decide, but generally as with all dried herbs their flavor is more
intense than fresh.