Topic: Pickled onions?

[Chris Graham]

Can i just put the onions into vinegar then place in fridge in jars?

Or do I need to boil up the vinegar?

[saddad]

I'll have to ask OH... she does that stuff..
 ???

[Tulipa]

Delia Smith has a 'cold' recipe in her original black cookery books - no. 3 I think, they keep for about three months if done like that. I am not with my book at he moment and it is not on her website..  I think it is quite easy, just half fill the jar with onions, pop in some pickling spice and top it up if I remember rightly.  Sorry I am not more help. :(

[little-weed]

Hi
I think you have to put the onions in salt water overnight(please peel them first lol ) then drain them off the next day, place in jars and put pickerling vinegar over them, you can buy this from most large supermarkets,  you can also add sugar to make them sweet, warm some vinegar in a pan add the sugar stir untill sugar has melted,  let cool then add to the remainder of the vineger put over the onions. I am not sure how long you will have to leave them for but if its in my house not long (lol )

little-weed

[petengade]

You can get the Sarsons pickling vinegar from Tesco's, malt or clear, I have just stuck the shallots in the jars and put in a cool place with a spoon full of sugar to take the sharp taste away, but now I cover in salt , leave for a day, wash off salt, dry then put in the jars with the sugar, seem to keep longer that way. (I know I will be told I am doing it all wrong)

[Baccy Man]

Digging out my notes from when I was at catering college this is the method we were taught:

Because the vinegar used is acetic acid, care should be taken when selecting the correct pan to use. Aluminium is best, followed by unchipped enamel, but never use iron, copper or brass as these will cause an unwanted metallurgic reaction with the vinegar. Some find a pressure cooker to be the ideal pan, especially when making a large batch.

Five kilograms of onions should make about ten regular jars of pickles. Any vinegar can be used although the best flavours tend to come from malt or spiced rather than white or clear.
Apart from the onions you will need:
At least half a kilogram of salt
Two litres of malt vinegar
125 grams of pickling spice
50 grams of root ginger
One small piece of cinnamon stick
One bay leaf

Allow plenty of time! A crisp, crunchy pickled onion needs all liquid added to be cold. Spread the task over two or three days.

First make some brine. Take one litre of water and boil it with half a kilo of salt until the salt has dissolved. Put this aside until the mixture is completely cold.

Peel the onions or shallots. Use a very sharp, stainless steel knife to prevent discoloration and remove the skins underwater to save your tears. If the onions are very strong try popping a cube of bread into your mouth.

Submerge the peeled onions in the cold brine. Don't worry if some of the salt has separated itself, just spoon it over the top. Weigh down the onions to make sure they are all covered - a round washing-up bowl with a frying pan lid and a few large books will do the trick.

Leave for at least 24 hours to allow the brine water to penetrate the onions and remove some of their moisture.

Meanwhile, prepare the vinegar. Take a muslin cloth or clean cotton handkerchief and place the pickling spices, ginger, cinnamon stick and bay leaf inside. Close the cloth with string and tie around a wooden spoon so that you can stop it from sinking too far.

Put the malt vinegar into the pan, add two small, peeled onions, a tablespoon of salt and the spice parcel. Bring the vinegar to the boil and boil for five minutes. A word of advice here - the boiling vinegar does not only smell quite strong it also removes oxygen from the air, so make sure that you open windows or doors and take care if you suffer from asthma.

After five minutes, turn off the heat, take out the spice bag and put the vinegar somewhere to cool (but not in the fridge!). One advantage of preparing this in the autumn is that it can safely stay outside overnight if covered.

Rinse the onions well and pack into the jars. Pour over the cold vinegar so that all the onions are covered but take care not to overfill the jar if using screw tops. Seal and place in a cool place. If possible leave for at least a week before eating.

Variations
If you prefer your pickled onions to be soft then pour the vinegar while still hot. Remember to warm the jars in the oven first, or they may shatter.

Experiment!

There are many wonderful specialist vinegars available. Try combining the basic brew with these and create your own flavours. Use about 50/50 for a strong flavour or 25/75 for a more subtle one. Some ideas include tarragon, cider, white, red, and, for a sweet and sour effect, raspberry.

[keef]

I do it like this,

Rub off the loose skin and roots off the shallots / onions (i always pickle shallots).

Add about 1lb of salt to a gallon of cold water (i just guess this bit so quantity's dont need to be exact), stir it about.

Pour in the shallots / onions - leave to soak for 24 hours.

Strain off the water.

Top, tail and peel the onions / shallots.

Make up fresh water / salt mix -

Pour in shallots / onions - leave for another 24 - 48 hours.

Strain off the water, put in jars with a few dried chilli's and pepper corns - pour over plain malt vinegar.

Leave for at least 3 months before eating.

[Chris Graham]

Thanks for all the advice!

Will try this out

[petengade]

Are you sure Baccy man? I would use stainless steel to boil the vinegar, found this, '' Some people think that one of the clues to the mystery may lie in aluminium. There is circumstantial evidence linking aluminium with Alzheimer's disease''. I forget where I read it  ;D

[Baccy Man]

Acetic acid (vinegar) is corrosive to many metals including iron, magnesium, and zinc, forming hydrogen gas and metal salts called acetates. Aluminium, when exposed to oxygen, forms a thin layer of aluminium oxide on its surface which is relatively resistant, meaning that aluminium tanks can be used to transport acetic acid. This is why an aluminium pan is reccommended.
I am aware of the circumstantial evidence linking aluminium & alzheimers. Cooking with uncoated aluminium utensils can increase the amount of aluminium in certain foods such as fruits which are high in citric acid. Cooking foods in coated, non-stick or hard anodised aluminium pans adds virtually no aluminium to food.

[allaboutliverpool]

Why not make a batch with balsamic vinegar?

The result is less tart, and once I had bought them from Tesco's about 5 years ago, I have never had the ordinary malt vinegar ones since. I prefer shallots to onions and both are available, while my wife likes baby beeetroot in balsamic vinegar.

There is no need to buy the most expensive vinegar, look for the cheapest and use the advice given previously re. salting, spicing etc.

English cheese, cream crackers, butter and pickled shallots...............how about a glass of bitter as well?

Good luck

[keef]

I love them too - problem is I'm banned from eating them as i contaminate the atmosphere to much ;D I've got 6 jars in the cupboard, i manage to sneak one now then when i get in from the pub, but i always get found out in the morning. You cant beat a couple with a slab strong cheddar and a crusty roll  :P

[debster]

my dad has always just peeled them and put them in jars of pickling vinegar and they are lush

[cleo]

I too have to indulge with caution-shallots rather than onions,brine them and then add cold flavoured vinegar(not stuff in a jar-vinegar you have flavoured to taste) leave a few weeks and eat when OH is taking a night over to visit friends

[Chris Graham]

my dad has always just peeled them and put them in jars of pickling vinegar and they are lush

Sounds good to me!

[PAULW]

I use red sun shallots peeled and washed put in a jar and covered with malt vinegar from Lidls, PERFEK

[tim]

But uless they are dehydrated they won't keep??

[PAULW]

Tim
I make two gallon a year we are just coming to the end of the second gallon and they are still as firm as the first ones out of the jar last year.

[soozie]

If its any help I blanch mine first in boiling water, then peel (with the radio on!) soak for 24 hours in salt water, drain, rinse, then add distilled white vinegar with some spices layered between the onions or ready made pickling vinegar,sometimes with the addition of more chillies.  :) :)

[Sparkly]

my dad has always just peeled them and put them in jars of pickling vinegar and they are lush

Sounds good to me!

chris, are these spring onions? is that how 'silverskin pickled onions' are made?