Shallot  The shallot is a type of onion, specifically a botanical variety of the species "Allium cepa". The shallot was formerly classified as a separate species, "A. ascalonicum", a name now considered a synonym of the currently accepted name. Its close relatives include the garlic, leek, chive, and Chinese onion. Shallots probably originated in Central or Southwest Asia, travelling from there to India and the eastern Mediterranean. The name "shallot" comes from Ashkelon, an ancient Canaanite city, where people in classical Greek times believed shallots originated. The name "shallot" is also used for the Persian shallot "(A. stipitatum)", from the Zagros Mountains in Iran and Iraq. The term "shallot" is further used for the French red shallot ("Allium cepa" var. "aggregatum", or the "A. cepa" Aggregatum Group) and the French gray shallot or griselle ("Allium oschaninii"), a species referred to as "true shallot"; it grows wild from Central to Southwest Asia. The name "shallot" is also used for a scallion in New South Wales, Australia and among English-speaking people in Quebec while the term "French shallot" refers to the plant referred to on this page. Anglophone Quebecers and British English speakers stress the second syllable of "shallot", as "shall-OH" and "shall-OT" respectively (Australians and New Zealanders also say "shall-OT"), while other varieties of English pronounce it as "SHALL-ət". The term "eschalot", derived from the French word "échalote", can also be used to refer to the shallot. Like garlic, shallots are formed in clusters of offsets with a head composed of multiple cloves. The skin colour of shallots can vary from golden brown to gray to rose red, and their off-white flesh is usually tinged with green or magenta. Shallots are extensively cultivated for culinary uses, propagated by offsets. In some regions ("long-season areas"), the offsets are usually planted in autumn (September or October in the Northern Hemisphere). In some other regions, the suggested planting time for the principal crop is early spring (typically in February or the beginning of March in the Northern Hemisphere). In planting, the tops of the bulbs should be kept a little above ground, and the soil surrounding the bulbs is often drawn away when the roots have taken hold.