This pastel is the new neutral.

Le Creuset Shallot Collection
Courtesy of Le Creuset

A launch of a new Le Creuset color is breaking news for many, but especially for mega fans of the cookware brand who have strongly-held opinions about their favorite hues. And the latest color drop from the beloved brand is one that’s very in tune with the cheerful spring season—meet Shallot. Yes, they named it after the allium vegetable, and yes its shade matches its namesake.

Shallot is described by Le Creuset as a “next-generation neutral,” and a hue that “hovers between the palest purple and pink with an extremely light whisper of lavender and gray.” It’s exactly a doppelgänger for the delicate hue found in the inside of a shallot. And that kind of soft, light color is tricky to pull off in products, to no surprise. “It is hard to achieve color stability with such light colors,” a specialist from Le Creuset’s color lab explains on the brand’s website. “Expertise on enamel and selection of specific pigments is essential.”

Shallot and other “new neutrals” from Le Creuset.

Courtesy of Le Creuset

So why use the vegetable as inspiration? Well, it does meet the color preferences and aesthetics of the moment—personally, I think it’s sort of like a grown-up millennial pink. The shallot also has some French history, too, which makes for a nice nod to Le Creuset’s French roots. The brand says that the Crusaders first introduced the shallot to France in the 11th century and since then, it’s been an integral ingredient in French cuisine. In fact, Le Creuset notes that French people have claimed that the particular shallot the color is based on—the griselle, or French gray shallot—is the only “true shallot.”

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Since the brand considers the color a neutral, it’s made to fit in just nicely with your existing cookware and bakeware, no matter the style or palette. It’s a nice way to add a “pop” of color without having to rethink your whole kitchen set. You can get many of the brand’s classic pieces in the colorway, from Dutch ovens to skillets to casserole dishes. Take a look at some of the pieces below.

Collect the Whole Shallot Set

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