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Pickled Onions

I'm partial to pretty much anything pickled, I love the sharpness and pickled onions are just the first and best in my mind. It took me a while to come up with this recipe as I wanted to be able to do one that meant it didn't matter how big the jar was or how many onions you have, and this does it with simple calculations for how much salt or vinegar to use.

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It's great to do a big batch of a few jars as they keep for a year at least so you'll always have some on hand for that perfect ploughman's lunch. Try using any combination of whole spices you like, I feel only the bay and peppercorns are a must.

Ingredients

​Makes a 600ml Jar - see method for calculations to match any jar

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  • 300g small white onions or shallots

  • 400ml malt vinegar

  • 30g table salt

  • 50g sugar

  • 1tsp mustard seeds

  • 1/2tsp fennel seeds

  • 1/2tsp carraway seeds

  • 12 whole black peppercorns

  • 1 bay leaf

Method

Ok you need to start with your jar as everything on volumes really depends on that. Place the jar on a scale, zero it, then fill it to the brim with onions or shallots. Go right to the brim, if not a bit over as once you peel them they will fit in easy. Now you should have the weight of the onions you need to fill the jar.

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Cut the root end off the onions then peel and place in a bowl or tupperware container then pour over 1/10th of the weight you measured in table salt. For the example ingredients above it's 30g for 300g of onions but for 500g of onions it would be 50g, nice and simple. Now cover and put in the fridge overnight to let the salt draw out the moisture.

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The next day use your jar again and fill it to two thirds full with malt vinegar, then pour that out into a measuring jug to see how much there is. A good rule here is 50g of sugar per 400ml of vinegar (1/8) and 2 tsp of spices with the peppercorns and a bay leaf for the same amount.

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Once you know your quantities pour the vinegar in a saucepan with the sugar and spices. Now before heating it you want to sterilise the jar/jars. Wash them in hot soapy water then put the jars in an oven at 140c (280f) for 15 mins the lids need to be put in a bowl and covered with boiling water for the same time.

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When the jars are ready bring the saucepan of pickling vinegar up to a simmer and leave on the heat for 2 mins.

 

Whilst the vinegar is heating wash the onions in cold water to rinse off the salt then pack them into the sterilised jars. Then pour over the hot pickling vinegar and spices. If you have too much vinegar heated up and the jar is full, just strain out the spices and pop these into the jar as we want that flavour to be in there to develop over time. Any remaining vinegar of which there shouldn't be much will work just as well on chips as the stuff out of the bottle.

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Seal your jars and let them cool on the side then just pop in a cupboard for 2 months until they are ready.

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