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
black turtle bean soup.... I think cooking shallot wastes them,
certainly considering their cost. As for freeze dried, I consider all
such products strictly a convenience, nice to have at hand in the
pantry... 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, so a little goes a long way.