What does shallot mean?
Word: Shallot
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Shallot means a small vegetable that grows in clusters of bulbs and adds a strong flavour to food.
How do you spell shallot?
Syllables: shal - lot
Tricky part: One l is the usual slip, because in speech you hear only one.
Watch out for: shalot, shallott
Memory tip: Picture two bulbs growing side by side in a cluster: they stand for the two l's in the middle.
Shallot in a sentence
Example 1: Thinly sliced shallot makes this salad taste sharper.
Example 2: The vendor weighed out half a kilo of shallots.
Example 3: Sana chopped a shallot for the lentil soup.
Fun Fact
The name goes back to Ascalon, an ancient port on the Mediterranean coast: Roman writers named this onion after the town.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Which word do the jumbled letters in the sentence spell?
Mum sliced a tlsaloh and stirred it into the bubbling stew.
a) scallop
b) shallot
c) shamrock
d) sorrel
Show answer
b) shallot. Scallop wants a c, sorrel an r and shamrock an m, so none of them can be made.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
sh_ll_t
a) a, e
b) a, o
c) o, o
d) e, o
Show answer
b) a, o. The word starts with sha, and the vowel near its end is o.
Word Cookie
One word in this sentence is misspelt. Find it:
My grandmother slices each shallot very thinly and fries it slowly with curry leaves, mustard seeds and a generous pinch of tumeric until the whole house smells wonderful.
a) generous
b) shallot
c) tumeric
d) mustard
Show answer
c) tumeric. The yellow spice is turmeric, with an r before the m.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. cinnamen 2. coriander 3. fenugreek 4. shallot
a) a herb whose leaves and seeds are used in cooking
b) a plant whose bitter seeds flavour many spicy dishes
c) a sweet brown spice made from tree bark
d) a bulb vegetable used to flavour cooking
Show answer
c) a sweet brown spice made from tree bark. Cinnamon ends in on, so the list's ending gives it away.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these dishes would a shallot go into most naturally?
a) a spicy vegetable curry
b) a bowl of mango ice cream
c) a slice of chocolate cake
d) a glass of cold lemonade
Show answer
a) a spicy vegetable curry
2. Which kitchen job usually comes first with a shallot?
a) cracking its hard shell open
b) peeling off its papery skin
c) grating it like a coconut
d) squeezing it for its juice
Show answer
b) peeling off its papery skin
