Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Eating and Drinking => Cooking, Storing and Preserving => Topic started by: Yorkshire Lass on July 31, 2015, 19:18
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I have a huge haul of shallots (lucky me)...while I love pickling them I would rather like to save them so my OH can cook with them i.e pop them in stews curries etc. But how do I store them so they are at there best, or do they not store very well. :blush: ???
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Shallots store ok.Make sure you dry them well. I dry mine using the plastic mushroom trays
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Shallots store ok.Make sure you dry them well. I dry mine using the plastic mushroom trays
So do I :)
They stoe well as long as you keep them somewhere cool but frost free.
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Shallots store ok.Make sure you dry them well. I dry mine using the plastic mushroom trays
Please can you explain how you do this....total newbie here ???
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I harvested mine when the leaves were withered, then laid them out on trays to make sure they were completely dry. You need somewhere dry and light, but if this is under cover (greenhouse, grow house, windowsill) you need to make sure they get light, but not scorching direct sunlight that will cook them. Mine were on a windowsill in a cool room.
At this stage they need to be in a single layer and a week or two more will not hurt. Better than not drying them enough.
Mine then transferred on their trays to the shed. I've got a picture in my diary showing this, Again, a week or two longer than you think you need is no problem. They need to be totally dry with papery skin and necks to store.
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=101081.msg1425185#msg1425185
Yesterday I went through all of them and the garlic. I gently rubbed the surplus skins and any dry soil off them, so they are clean and ready to take into the kitchen as needed. Any that felt squishy or looked mouldy went in the compost. They then went into slightly deeper tubs (actually recycled plastic meat trays) and are now a few layers deep.
I will chuck some fleece over them in the shed if the winter gets really cold, but otherwise, apart from eating them, you just need to check them periodically for any signs of rot and chuck out any manky ones :)