Pickled onions have always been a favourite but these homemade pickled sweet red onion rings are so easy to make that there is no excuse for not having them on hand. They will enhance your salads and sandwiches or meats with their spicy, sweet and vinegary flavour. With their vibrant pink colour, pickled red onion rings are both attractive and delicious.

Pickled Red Onion Rings

Ingredients:

• 1 large red onion, peeled and sliced into rings with a very sharp knife
• 2/3 cup of white vinegar
• 1/3 cup water
• 3/4 tsp pickling or kosher salt (does not contain additives that make the brine cloudy)
• 1 tsp pickling spice (mixture of mustard seeds, dill seeds and whole allspice)
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and used whole
• 2 stems of fresh dill
• 1 clean, sterilised jar

Method:

1. Select a jar that will hold your red onion that has a wide mouth and large enough to hold the onion with a centimeter or more to spare above the top of the onion
2. Wash the jar in hot soapy water, rinsing it well.
3. As jar capacity will vary from jar to jar here is a method of working out how much pickling liquor you will need for your jars. This method means you can make as much onion and use any jar that suits.
4. Take the  clean jar and place the washed onion/s with the outer skin removed but uncut into the jar. Fill it with water to 1 cm from the top holding the onion down.
5. Empty the water from the jar into a measuring jug, holding back the onion to measure the amount of pickling liquid needed for your jar.
   You will need 2/3 vinegar to 1/3 brine.
   You will need 3/4 Tsp of pickling salt per cup of liquid
6. Place the water and pickling salt into a saucepan and simmer till the salt is melted.
7. Set aside and allow the brine to cool
8. Using a sharp knife cut the onion horizontally into rings
9. Place 1 teaspoon of pickling spice and 1 tsp of black peppercorns into the clean jar
10. Arrange the onion, cut into rings into the jar
11. Add the vinegar to the cooled brine and gently pour over the onion
12. Push in the stems of dill and the garlic cloves
13. Seal the jar and tap the jar on the counter top to remove any air bubbles, then store the pickled red onion rings in the refrigerator. They will be ready to taste after a week. The longer they are left to mature the better the flavour. The colour also intensifies the longer they are left
14. The pickled red onion rings are a flavourful addition to sandwiches and salads and served as an accompaniment to any meat or antipasto platter