[Salmo]

I saw in the press today that the French trying to get shallots defined through the EU courts. They argue that the only thing that should be allowed to be called shallots are grown from sets and never set seed. They want the so called shallots grown by the Dutch from seed to have to be called onions.

I am fully in support of this. Zebrune, Matador, Ambition, Figaro etc are small onions, not shallots.

[Aunt Sally]

A rose by any other name ...   

[Casey76]

I thought that shallots grew in clumps, and onions grew singly (unless planted in a clump)?

[brokenglass]

yes technically many of the "French type" Shallots are Onions but it isn't worth a Court Case surely

[Salmo]

The French argue that shallots are hand planted and take more labour to harvest. The Dutch are growing seed sown small and banana onions, which can be sown and harvested mechanically, and selling them as shallots in competition with the French genuine article.

[Aunt Sally]

Do they taste different ?

Do they have to be used differently in cooking ?

[mumofstig]

'Dutch shallots’, which are grown from seeds, are vastly inferior, the French argue, and consumers cannot tell the difference between them and small onions.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/20/french-claim-dutch-flooding-market-with-fake-shallots-that-are-a/

So........ even if the French succeed, Banana onions/shallots will still sell better because buyers aren't prepared to pay the high prices demanded by French growers for 'shallots'.

So what exactly will the French gain by the reclassification? 

[Lardman]

So what exactly will the French gain by the reclassification? 

End users may not give a monkeys but how long before they then prevent the selling of meals which are supposed to contain shallots which contain Dutch onions. I can see it now "You can't call it beef bourguignon, it doesn't have real French shallots, its beef in a red wine and Dutch onion sauce"