The dreaded Onion Fly

My poor "Jermor" shallots, planted in November and just about ready to lift, were infested with the grubs of onion fly. The first signs were a yellowing of the leaves, which is also a sign of the shallots being ready, but when I lifted a sample of the yellowest, the bulbs were rotting from the neck downwards. There were signs of little white grubs (mostly dead) and a few pupae.

Grub and pupa of onion fly

According to my gardening books, this little perisher emerges from pupae in the soil in May, but I suspect that it was earlier this year because of the warm weather. The organic treatment is netting to prevent the flies getting to the leaves, and of course growing alliums (onions, garlic, shallots, leeks) in a different place every year, cultivating the soil well so that the birds can get to the pupae.

I'm sure I have had such infestations back on the allotment, but never with the same effect. But then there was so much onion white rot that I often lost 50% or more of the harvest. Some plotholders didn't bother to grow alliums because of the losses. White rot is a fungus, and its spores can remain active in the soil for thirty years. No white rot here! It can only come in on infected sets - moral, don't plant supermarket shallots or garlic!

The grubs have not in themselves done much damage, and most of them are dead, but rot has taken hold where they have been working - just above the neck of the shallot - and unless I cook or freeze the bulbs immediately I will lose the lot. For that reason I'm making some more shallot confiture. I'd have made that anyway, but not with green shallots, so it'll be interesting to see if there's a difference.

The garlic and onions are also affected. I've lifted the garlic ("Germidour") and found tunnels and pupae, but not the rot, as yet. The garlic harvest is magnificent, with large, even-sized heads and decent-sized cloves.

The Germidour haul

The wounds caused by the grubs have scarred over, so I've hung the dried bulbs in bunches in a cool place away from the mice.

All those lovely shallots

At the moment, there seems to be a good supply of onions and shallots at the various marchés gourmands in the neighbourhood. Particularly fine and sleek are the shallots called either échalions or cuisses de poulet (chicken thighs). I'm going to make Shallot Confiture, adapted from Hilaire Walden's Sensational Preserves. It makes just over a kilo of preserve. It's a four-day job, but very simple. As with all pickles involving vinegar, you need a stainless steel pan to cook it, and a non-metallic bowl to start with.

You will need:
675g/1.5lb shallots
100g/3.5oz sea salt
1 litre/1.75 pints cider vinegar
450g/1lb sugar
1.5 teaspoons cloves
2 cardamom pods, crushed
1.5 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 long strip of lemon zest
1 cinammon stick
2-4 dried red chillies, crushed
a good pinch of ground chilli or cayenne

Day 1
Peel the shallots, leaving the root end intact. Put the shallots in a glass, plastic or ceramic bowl, sprinkle over the sea salt and add enough cold water to cover (they float!), stirring carefully to dissolve the salt. Put a plate on the shallots to submerge them, then leave for a day in a cool place.

Day 2
Drain and rinse the shallots thoroughly and dry on paper towels. Pour the vinegar into a pan and stir in the sugar. Place the spices, except the ground chilli, on a square of muslin and tie into a bag. Add to the pan with the ground chilli and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Raise the heat and boil fairly hard for 10 minutes. Remove any surface scum with a slotted spoon. Add the shallots and simmer very gently for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and leave overnight.

Day 3
The next day, slowly bring the shallots to the boil, then simmer gently for another 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and leave overnight.

Day 4
The next day, slowly bring the shallots to the boil once more then simmer gently until they are golden brown and translucent. Pack into warm, clean, dry jars, pour on the syrupy liquid to cover and shake to remove any air pockets. Cover with vinegar-proof lids and seal. Store in a cool, dark, dry place for at least 2 months before eating.