Peeling Onions
Sometimes peeling onions make me cry and sometimes they don't. If it does get
to you, stick your hands in a bowl of water until it stops. Perhaps its the
onion skin on your hand, I don't know for sure - but it seems to work.
Peel the onions and put them in a bowl with a little salt on them. I leave
them overnight in a cool place where no one has to smell them much. The salt
lifts the onion layers a little which allows the vinegar to seep in a bit.
You
can also soak the onions in sugar and water at this point if you want to. I
prefer to add the sugar when the onions are in the jar as it seems
to be easier, but this is up to you.
Pickling Spices
Next day pop-em in the pickling jar and then fill the jar with malt vinegar.
I use malt vinegar as this I believe gives the pickled onions the most
traditional taste, but you can experiment to your gourmet pickling taste buds
can take no more.
Then put in some pickling spice. I use 1 -2 small dried chillies, black whole
peppercorns and a little dried bay, I would think about 3/4 teaspoon, but again
I say experiment because these are so cheap and simple to make you can always
make another Jar.
I have looked at other pickling spice mixes and the most common use the
following mixture using whole or coarse pieces: cinnamon, allspice,
mustard seed, coriander, bay leaves, ginger, chillies, cloves, black pepper,
mace and cardamom but use what you have and you will probably like the results.
A Spoon full of Sugar helps the medicine go down.
Finally put a teaspoon or more of sugar in to activate it all. Put the
jar somewhere cool and dark and forget about them for 3 - 4 weeks.
There are lots of other ways to make pickled onions and I have tried many of them
being such a fan, but this method has been the most consistent, cheapest and
easiest.
This method has been passed down to me and the results taste like the expensive ones
in the posh jars, and not those acidic little silver
skin ones they try and pass of as cocktail snaXs in the
supermarket.
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