If you're feeling confident, you can play around with this excellent pickled onion recipe; malt vinegar will give you golden onions, balsamic a deep, delicious brown.
Looking for more pickles and preserves?
Pickled onions
Quite a pickle.
- 3 hrs cooking
- Makes 6 cups
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Ingredients
Pickled onions
- 1 kg baby brown onions (small pickling onions)
- ½ cup (140g) cooking (kosher) salt
- 2 cups (500ml) boiling water
- 1 cup (250ml) cold water
- 2 cloves garlic, bruised
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 3 cups (750ml) white wine vinegar
- 1 cup (250ml) white vinegar
- 1 cup (220g) caster sugar
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
Method
Pickled onions
- 1Place onions in a large heatproof non-metallic bowl, cover with boiling water; stand for 30 minutes, drain. Peel onions, leaving root ends intact; return to bowl.
- 2Combine salt and the boiling water in a large heatproof jug; stir until salt dissolves. Add the cold water; pour over onions. Cover with a large plate or a sealed plastic bag half-filled with water to keep onions submerged; stand overnight.
- 3Place garlic, peppercorns, vinegars, sugar and 2 sprigs of both rosemary and thyme in a 4.5-litre (18-cup) slow cooker. Cook, covered, on high, for 2 hours.
- 4Meanwhile, rinse and drain onions; pat onions dry with paper towel. Pack onions, bay leaves and remaining rosemary and thyme into hot sterilised jars.
- 5Discard rosemary, thyme and garlic from vinegar mixture. Pour enough vinegar mixture into jars to cover onions; seal immediately. Label and date jars when cold.
Notes
Discard any excess pickling liquid.
