Traditional Homemade Pickled Onions

This was my mum’s recipe for Traditional Homemade Pickled Onions, and she used to make a few jars every November for the Christmas tea table. (My recipe for Traditional Homemade Pickled Onions is at the end of this post)

Christmas Gifts in a Jar

The recipe I am sharing today is very poignant, as it was my mum’s recipe for Traditional Homemade Pickled Onions, and she used to make a few jars every November for the Christmas tea table. But, why only make these in November? 

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. If you make them in the first week of November, they will be wonderfully mellow but still crisp and crunchy by the time the festive period starts in earnest.

These Traditional Homemade Pickled Onions WILL keep quite happily for up to a year in the pantry, as long as it is cool and dark, but they are best eaten with 6 months. Serve these traditional pickled onions with cheese, cold meats, pork pies, ploughman’s lunch as well as with quiches, flans and salads. They are also great when served with fish and chips, in the style of a proper “Yorkshire Fish Supper”, or with egg and chips.

I also have a recipe for pickled shallots here: Christmas in a Jar – Pickled Shallots should you have problems finding small pickling onions. I’ll be sharing a list of all my other pickle recipes later on in this post, so you can choose which ones to make alongside today’s recipe for Traditional Homemade Pickled Onions.

What is Pickling Spice?

Pickling spice is something that I grew up with, insofar as I always saw a jar or a tin of of it in my mum’s store cupboard. It’s sold my all the major supermarkets, as well as by all the leading spice and herb companies. It’s basically a melange of spices, ready mixed, which you can add to chutney, pickles and pickled vegetables etc.

Pickling spice is usually made up of the following spices, but it IS easy to make your own mixture too.

• Coriander seeds
• Mustard seeds
• Peppercorns
• Cloves
• Bay leaves
• Allspice berries
• Dried Chillies

Step-by-Step Method for Traditional Homemade Pickled Onions

My recipe for Traditional Homemade Pickled Onions is at the end of this post.

• Put all of the unpeeled onions in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them, leave to steep in the water for 1 minute, before tipping them into a colander to drain.
• Place the onions into the bowl again and cover them with cold water now.
• Peel the skins off the onions, making a small cut at the root end to ease the skins off.
• Once all of the onions have been peeled, layer the peeled onions with the salt in a large bowl, cover them with a clean tea towel and leave them overnight or up to 24 hours in the salt.
• The following say, drain and rinse the onions thoroughly, pat them dry and pack them into some clean and sterilised jars.

• Pour the pickling vinegar over the onions in the jars, including all the pickling spices, seal the jars and allow to mature for 4 weeks before serving.
• Make the spiced pickling vinegar: Pour the vinegar into a large saucepan and add the sugar and the pickling spices. Bring to the boil, then take the vinegar off the heat immediately, cover with a lid and leave to go cold and infuse for 24 hours.

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More Pickle Recipes

• Turkey Hash Cakes with Quick Pickled Cauliflower & Clementines

• Christmas in a Jar – Pickled Shallots

• Quick Sweet Pickled Cucumbers

• A Country Recipe: Winter Salad (Pickle)

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I hope you enjoy making this easy recipe as much I did a few weeks ago, and I’m sure all the pickled onion fans put there will love these pickled shallots as much as we do too. You can use small onions if you wish, and if you like a little heat, then you can add a couple of dried chillies to the pickling vinegar. 

I’ll be back soon with more recipes, and culinary news, so do keep popping back to see what’s new. Have a wonderful week, Karen 

Notes:

• You can use a mixture of malt and red wine vinegar.
• Cider apple vinegar can also be used.
• Add some chilli flakes to the pickling spices for extra heat.
• Pack the onions into small jars, add a paper cover and some ribbon and give them away as gifts or as part of a food hamper.
• Other aromatic seeds can be used in homemade pickling spice, such as cumin, dill as well as cinnamon sticks and star anise.

Recipe for Traditional Homemade Pickled Onions