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Pickled Onions

Pickled onions preserved in a vinegar and peppercorn brine.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,226 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Pickled Onions

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the onions

  1. Peel the onions.

  2. Boil a strong solution of salt and water, then pour it over the onions.

  3. Let the onions stand in the saltwater for 24 hours, keeping the vessel covered to retain steam.

  4. After 24 hours, wipe the onions dry.

Pickle and store

  1. Boil the vinegar and peppercorns together.

  2. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the onions, ensuring they are completely covered.

  3. Seal the container tightly and store for several weeks before using.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,226 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Onions
Are the main vegetable, softened and mellowed as they pickle in brine and vinegar.
Vinegar
Provides the acidity that preserves the onions and gives them their sharp, tangy flavor.
Peppercorns
Add a warm, aromatic spice flavor to the vinegar as it is boiled.

The step that matters

Covering the onions completely with hot vinegar. Onions left exposed above the liquid can spoil or mold, since the acidic brine only protects what it fully covers. Pouring the vinegar while hot also helps it penetrate and begin softening the onions.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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