French food writer Robert J. Courtine famously quipped that "The onion is the truffle of the poor." Although, foodies associate shallots, not onions, more closely with French culinary style.

And does it~really~matter if you swap one for the other? The produce aisle is overflowing with look-alikes: zucchini and cucumbers, sweet potatoes and yams, plantains and bananas, onions and shallots.