Pickling onions

Yorky

Yorky

RIP 21/01/2024
Joined
3 Oct 2016
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My wife found these small red onions (not shallots) in the market yesterday afternoon so I am preparing them for pickling.

pickling onions s.jpg
 
Did you know that if you put in a bowl, pour over boiling water, cover and leave for half an hour then the skins come off easily? Too late for that tip I suspect. Do you just use vinegar as the pickling agent?
 
...what is the difference between a shallot and a small onion, in any case, I wonder? No doubt I could Google.
 
morning glory said:
Did you know that if you put in a bowl, pour over boiling water, cover and leave for half an hour then the skins come off easily? Too late for that tip I suspect. Do you just use vinegar as the pickling agent?
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A) I don't like boiling or even hot water near them. Tends to soften them (i.e. semi cook) and there's nothing worst than a soft pickled onion.

B) Generally just vinegar and a couple of slotted red chilis (causes them to "bite back"). I've added whole black peppercorns previously but it tends to "blacken" the onions after a while. I have tried the pickling spices but I find that they sweeten the onion so I haven't bothered with that for years.
 
morning glory said:
...what is the difference between a shallot and a small onion, in any case, I wonder? No doubt I could Google.
Click to expand...

As far as I am aware, a shallot comes in two pieces (the ones available here do) whereas a small onion is whole. When you remove the first layer of skin you end up with two half bulbs. As far as the taste, I've no idea.

shallots.JPG
 
I read this on the net: "Shallots have a sweet and mild (although pronounced) flavor, with a hint of garlic, and lack the bite you get with yellow or white onions. Shallots work especially well in dishes where they're eaten raw, like dressings and salads, and can seamlessly blend into delicate quiches and custards."
 
I remember many years ago an Australian friend arrived at my house with his wife. There were four of us on the stoep at the time enjoying a beer and some pickled onions (another Aussie, two Dutchmen and me). He asked "what are those?" "Pickled onions" was the answer. "Are they cooked?" "No, of course they are not cooked, they are pickled!" "Oh, I couldn't eat raw onions", he said.

10 minutes later he was finally persuaded to try one and thereafter never looked back!
 
Yorky said:
I remember many years ago an Australian friend arrived at my house with his wife. There were four of us on the stoep at the time enjoying a beer and some pickled onions (another Aussie, two Dutchmen and me). He asked "what are those?" "Pickled onions" was the answer. "Are they cooked?" "No, of course they are not cooked, they are pickled!" "Oh, I couldn't eat raw onions", he said.

10 minutes later he was finally persuaded to try one and thereafter never looked back!
Click to expand...

Don't Australian's make pickled onions?
 
I had pickled a few in a small jar earlier and I tried one earlier today (a little soon but....). It was wonderful and crisp and certainly bit back.

Instead of drying them repeatedly with kitchen paper, this time I allowed them to dry in the sun as an experiment. It doesn't appear to have been detrimental and saves on kitchen paper.
 
My wife bought some dill cucumbers as accompaniment for the laarb gai but I'll only eat one or possible two and there are six. I'll get more jars tomorrow and pickle the rest.

I have used "Mason" jars (as per the image below) in the past but the vinegar, even though only 5% acidic, ruins the seals. Of course, no-one sells replacement seals here.

Bormioli-Rocco-Fido-Round-Clear-Mason-Jar-67-Ounce-300x300.jpg
 
Yorky said:
Wednesday could therefore be seeing one of my favourites - egg, beans and chips.
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That did not happen. Maybe at the weekend.

However, I tried another pickled onion today and my wife said she heard the "crack" from 5 metres away as I bit it!
 
I can't go near the fridge now without grabbing a fork and trying just one of the onions. I must record the "crack" when they are bitten (but not the coughing when the chili heat hits the back of the throat). I love it!
 
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