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Pickled Onions for Salads and Snacks
Instructions
Peel the onions and slice them into half-rings about 2-3 mm thick. Separate the layers with your fingers so the marinade gets between them.
For a milder taste, put the onions in a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over them for 20-30 seconds and tip them straight into a colander. Leaving them in hot water longer makes them softer, not crunchier. If you want to keep more crunch, skip the scalding and use raw onions.
Let the water drain. Return the onions to the bowl, add the sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons of room-temperature drinking water. Stir until the salt and sugar are evenly spread.
Pour in 2 tablespoons of 6% apple cider vinegar. Stir, leave for 30 minutes and stir a couple more times during that time. Taste: for a stronger flavour you can leave the onions in the marinade longer, but in the fridge.
Before adding the onions to a salad, tip them into a sieve and let the marinade drain. Do not pour it into the finished salad: the extra liquid will thin the dressing. The onions can also be served on their own with fish, sandwiches or boiled potatoes.
Which onion and vinegar to use
The quantities are for two small peeled onions weighing about 200 g in total. You can mix ordinary and red onions, as in the photo. A red colour does not by itself mean a mild taste: the heat depends on the variety. Very large onions are best weighed, with the marinade scaled up to match.
A tablespoon here is 15 ml. You need apple cider vinegar with 6% acidity, not vinegar essence. If your bottle has a different strength, use the substitution below.
How to replace the apple cider vinegar
Instead of 30 ml of 6% vinegar, use 20 ml of 9% table vinegar and 10 ml of water. This replaces only the vinegar; the other 30 ml of water from the ingredient list stays. The amount of acid will be comparable, but table vinegar tastes sharper. Do not use vinegar essence in this recipe.
How to keep the crunch and remove harsh bitterness
For crunchy onions, a short contact with hot water, or no scalding at all, matters most. Slice them thinly, but not paper-thin. Sweet salad onions usually do not need boiling water. If the onions turn out too sour, rinse them quickly with drinking water, pat them dry and add them to the salad in small portions.
Storage and serving
This is a quick snack, not a preserve for storing at room temperature. Put any leftovers with their marinade in a clean closed container at no more than 4 °C and use them within 3 days. Do not stretch this to several weeks just because the onions were scalded or covered with vinegar.
For a salad with mayonnaise, drain the marinade especially well. For a vegetable salad, first mix a small portion of onions with the vegetables, taste, and only then add salt and a sour dressing. The calorie figure is approximate: some of the sugar and marinade stays in the bowl.
Video
FAQ
Can you pickle onions for a salad without boiling water? +
Yes. Mix thinly sliced raw onions with the marinade and leave for 30 minutes. They keep more crunch; a sharp variety may keep a noticeable bite.
Can pickled onions be made without sugar? +
You can simply leave the sugar out. The marinade will taste more sour. Honey also contains sugars and does not make the recipe sugar-free.
How long should onions marinate for a salad? +
For half-rings 2-3 mm thick, about 30 minutes. Thicker slices and sharp varieties need longer.
Can this marinade be used for canning? +
No. The recipe is meant for a quick snack and short storage in the fridge, not for sealing in jars.
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