Norval Family

South African AirForce Association

Homemade Pickled Onions

—

by

Henry Norval
in

A very simple recipe to make Homemade Pickled Onions without much fuss. The hardest job is peeling the small pickling or pearl onions.

Here is a simple way of removing the skin from the onions.

  • Cut the root ends off the onions
  • Place the onions in boiling water for about 30 seconds
  • After the 30 seconds transfer the onions to a bowl of ice water

Step 1 Preparing the pickling onions

Pickled Onions

Soak the peeled onions in clean fresh water with a tablespoon of salt added. I was adding a few chillies to each jar so they soaked with the onions. Leave them to soak while you prepare the brine or pickling liquid.

Step 2 Sterilize the jars for the homemade pickled onions

Wash the jars and lids thoroughly with hot soapy water, rinse and place in a large pot with almost boiling water. Leave them in the hot water for a minimum of 5 minutes.

Take them out and place on a rack to dry. Avoid touching the mouth of the jars and the inside of the lids.

Step 3 Preparing the pickling liquid or brine

What you will need

  • Vinegar – White or Brown. Experiment
  • Salt
  • Sugar
  • Bay Leaves
  • Optional chilli or two

The amount of vinegar depends on how many jars you will be filling. I normally make 2 jars. Fill the jar with vinegar and pour it in a pot and then fill again halfway with vinegar and the rest with water and pour into the pot.

Gently heat the vinegar and water mixture to a point where its almost boiling. Add two tablespoons of salt and two tablespoons of sugar. You can cut down on the sugar if you find the end result to sweet. Stir well until the salt and sugar are dissolved.

Step 4 Adding the onions and Brine to the Jar

Now start filling the jars with the peeled onions and add a few chillies (Optional). Pack them into the jars quite tightly together with 2 or 3 bay leaves.

Now slowly pour the hot brine or pickling liquid into the jars. Fill it right to the top and leave it for a few minutes to allow the bubbles to escape from the onions. Now top up making sure it covers all the contents.

Seal the jars with the lids and place back into the large pot with the hot water that you used to sterilize the jars. Leave them in the hot water for about 10 minutes.

Pickled Onions

Carefully take the jars out the hot water and let cool. After an hour or so place them in the refrigerator and forget about them for about 2 weeks.

Enjoy!