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Onion Pickles

A preserved condiment made by pickling small onions in a vinegar and salt solution.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Onion Pickles

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Soak the onions in cold water and salt overnight.

  2. Drain the water.

  3. Place the onions in tightly sealed pickle bottles.

Make the pickling liquid

  1. Boil the vinegar until it covers the onions.

  2. Add the pickling spice or red pepper.

  3. Pour the hot vinegar over the onions.

  4. Let them sit until cool.

  5. Drain off the vinegar and add a little more.

  6. Bring it to a boil again.

  7. Pour the boiling vinegar back over the onions.

Seal and store

  1. Cover well and store.

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 + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Onions
The main vegetable; soaking and brining firm them and let them absorb the pickling flavours.
Coarse sea salt
Draws water out of the onions during soaking, helping them stay firm and crisp.
Vinegar
Provides acidity that sharpens the flavour and helps preserve the onions.
Pickling spice
Adds aromatic, savoury flavour that infuses into the hot vinegar and onions.

The step that matters

Pour the boiling vinegar back over the onions. The vinegar must be hot and fully cover the onions so the brine penetrates evenly and the onions stay submerged. Sealing them well while hot helps keep air and spoilage organisms out.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Mustardfits better
  3. Cabbagefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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