Recipe for pickled red onions in slices
Uses for Pickled Red Onions
The tangy and sweet, stunning pickled red onions should be a staple in every refrigerator. They can brighten up almost anything.
Pickled red onions taste fantastic and are super easy to make on your own – plus, it’s easy to prepare a large batch each time.
This recipe for sliced pickled red onions requires very few ingredients, and the red onions turn out both crispy, sweet, and tangy, which gives a great touch to a classic hot dog, a burger, or a fresh salad.
Pickled red onions actually make a formidable side in a plethora of dishes and contexts. For instance, top a rye bread sandwich with a bit of pickled red onions for a tangy element, and the heavily layered rye bread is suddenly elevated to new heights!
How Long Do Pickled Red Onions Last?
Homemade pickled red onions can easily be stored in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for several weeks – in fact, even months. They will likely lose a bit of their beautiful, pink color, but that’s about it.
I am currently using a jar of pickled red onions that has just reached five months. They have lost almost all their color, admittedly, but neither the taste nor the durability is affected.
Apart from ensuring that the lid is naturally well-sealed, a good tip for extending the shelf life is to close the jar while the onions are still warm: This creates a vacuum in the jar, which lowers the oxygen content. Along with bacteria, oxygen is known to be preservation’s worst enemy.
Pickled Red Onions – Which Vinegar?
In theory, any type of vinegar can be used for pickling, as pickling is solely about the low pH value impairing the survival capabilities of bacteria.
However, the most common types of vinegar for pickling are apple cider vinegar, apple vinegar, wine vinegar (both red and white), and of course, the regular distilled vinegar.
I personally prefer apple vinegar or apple cider vinegar as it gives an extra delicate flavor to the pickled red onions.
What Else Can Be Pickled?
You can also venture into pickling red onions with apples, or you can move into another – though parallel – field and try your hand at pickled cucumbers, quick-pickled mushrooms – even pickled plums.
Good Tips for Pickling
If you want to learn more about pickling in general, you can find lots of inspiration and recipes in our article “Get Well-Equipped to Pickle.”
If you generally enjoy making your own things from scratch instead of buying supermarket versions, you can find inspiration for more essential kitchen and refrigerator items in this article.
Happy pickling!
Pickled red onions in slices
Equipment
- Utility Knife
- Cutting Board
- Deciliter Measure
- Canning Jar
- Pot
Ingredients
- 6 pcs. Red Onion Mine were quite large. Use 8 if they are “normal” sized
- 425 gram Sugar
- 500 gram Apple Cider Vinegar Other vinegars can be used, but I prefer this one
- 10 pcs. Peppercorns To taste
- 3 pcs. Bay Leaf To taste
Instructions
- Find a preservation jar/pickling jar.
- First, scald the jar and rinse it with Atamon afterwards – this increases the shelf life of the pickled red onions.
- Peel the onions and cut them in half. Then cut them into thin slices lengthwise.
- Bring your sugar and vinegar to a boil in a large pot.
- Add your bay leaves and peppercorns when it boils. Put half of the onions in the boiling brine and let them boil for 3 minutes. They quickly change color to a very nice pink color.
- Take the onions out of the brine and put them in the pickling jar.
- Repeat the process with the other half of the onions.
- Give the brine 2-4 minutes on its own at good heat when all the onions are taken out.
- Then pour the brine into the pickling jar (it should cover the onions) and let it cool a bit before closing the lid.
- Let the pickled red onions steep for 1-7 days before using them.