Judy Le May, age 13, of St. Paul, Minnesota, for her question:

What are shallots?

The Easter lily and the lily of the valley belong in the Liliaceae plant group. So do the tulips and the hyacinths, the stately yuccas and dozens of other showy plants. A large number of less showy food plants also belong in the Liliateae group. There are leeks for the soup and greet topped scallions for the salads and hubby garlic to add a lingering flavor to almost any savory dish. And there is a tasty assortment of tangy onions that come in white or yellowish browns, blues or startling purples.

The shallot is a small round onion of brownish yellow. It is cooked with meats and savory dishes to blend the flavors of the ingredients and to add a rich, gentle onion flavor of its very own. Shallot bulbs grow in clusters underground and the crop Is  ready for harvesting when the tall green tops begin to shrivel. Most of our shallots are groin in the warm, moist state of Louisiana.