How to pickle onions - Two Thirsty Gardeners (2024)

FAQs

How to pickle onions - Two Thirsty Gardeners? ›

Fill with the pickling vinegar, including the spices (although I always remove the bay leaf), until the onions are covered. Seal the jar and store somewhere cool and dark, six weeks being an optimum minimum length of time (but don't worry if you need to eat them sooner). Pickle perfection is as easy as that. Enjoy.

I always like to salt and soak the onions before pickling. This gets rid of the harsh 'bite' that often makes raw-onions unappetizing. Soaking them for a short time in hot water softens the onions slightly, priming them for quicker, more thorough absorption of the vinegar brine.

Hot water is often pour over onions (that aren't going to be pickled or cooked) in order to tame their sharpness and soften them a little.

Allow the jars to cool to room temperature before covering them and transferring them to the fridge. Your onions will be ready to eat when they are bright pink and tender. This could take anywhere from 1 hour to overnight, depending on the thickness of your onions. They will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Well, in the UK you start to see small "pickling onions" in the greengrocers and supermarkets from October onwards, and with a view to the Christmas buffet table, and that ubiquitous cheese board, now is the time to make these pickled onions so they have time to "mature" for 6 weeks.

Just peel and slice the red onion as called for in your recipe, then submerge them in a bowl of cold or ice water. Let them sit for at least ten minutes, stirring once or twice, before draining and using them in your recipe. For added flavor, you can also soak the onions in lime juice, lemon juice, or vinegar.

You take all of your ingredients, apart from the product that is being pickled, and bring them to a boil. The heating process helps activate the flavors in the brine and marry them together. This hot brine is then poured over what is to be pickled and then stored in the refrigerator.

If you are making pickles that will be refrigerated and eaten soon after they are made, then you Might be OK skipping the blanching process. But if are making food you want to last safely, then it's a step you don't want to miss.

If you're making a fresh batch of pickled red onions, let them cool completely at room temperature before stashing them in the fridge. Pickled red onions typically last for up to a week. You can tell it's time to toss them if the color darkens significantly, the brine becomes cloudy or fizzy, or the pickles go soft.

Salt is added at the beginning of the process to interfere with the growth of microorganisms other than the lactic acid bacteria. A small amount of vinegar may be called for to create an acid environment that discourages growth of unwanted microorganisms.

Is it OK to eat pickled onions everyday? ›

Pickled onions, for example, can be a beneficial part of a healthy diet. The pickling process does use a large amount of salt and sugar, but when eaten in moderation and considering the fact that pickled vegetables retain their nutritional values, they can be included in your diet.

Whether you've got way too many onions or just really enjoy the pickled variety, you might be wondering how long they will stay good for. After all, food safety is paramount when it comes to home-canned goods. When done properly, your unopened home-canned pickled onions are shelf-stable for one year.

Most pickle recipes call for distilled white vinegar. This is the clear, colorless vinegar made by fermenting grains. It has a mellow aroma, tart acid flavor and does not affect the color of light-colored vegetables or fruits.

Salt is a very important component when pickling, as it helps prevent the production of harmful bacteria by drawing out moisture. There are two types of 'salting'. Dry salting prior to the pickling process (which the recipe below uses) or wet salting, which uses a brine as part of the pickling process.

Pickling doesn't have to be a long process involving canning and special supplies. If you have vegetables that would be good pickled, like onions, garlic, carrots or green beans, toss them in the jar of leftover pickle juice, and see what happens. They'll make a nice addition to a charcuterie platter or Blood Mary.

Blanch red onions.

This step will help cut the raw onion flavor for those who prefer a milder tasting pickle. If you don't mind the raw flavor of onions, feel free to skip this step. Once the water is at a boil, submerge onions for about 10-15 seconds.

Wait 10 minutes, then serve. The salt softens the onion's fibrous texture and mellows the sharpness of their flavor. There are other ways to tame raw onion, of course. You could soak slices in lemon juice for 20 minutes, which lends a slightly pickled flavor, as in this Tomato and Herb Salad with Sumac.

The first step in making pickled vegetables is to allow the clean, cut vegetables to soak in salt or a strong saltwater solution for at least 3 hours, or sometimes overnight. As the vegetables swim in salt, some moisture is drawn from the tissues, which helps to preserve crisp texture through the pickling process.

Now roll your bald onions in salt and leave in a bowl overnight, rinsing the salt away in the morning before patting dry. Although this stage is optional, the salt-and-rinse method will extract moisture from within the onion and you will be rewarded with a crisper, crunchier, firmer pickle in the long run.

This salt treatment draws water out of the cucumbers and flavors them, so it's critically important. After layering or mixing in plenty of sea salt, I cover the salted cukes with ice cubes and a tea towel and forget about them for a few hours.