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Pickled Red Onions Recipe

Pocker Emily
Jar and bowl of bright pink pickled red onions
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Thin red onion slices in a lightly sweet vinegar brine, made as a refrigerator-only topping for tacos, sandwiches and bowls.
Estimated Recipe CostEstimated US$1.35 for the whole jar (about $0.17 per topping portion); varies by store.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Chilling 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 13 minutes
Servings: 8 small topping portions
Calories: 14
Ingredients Equipment Instructions Nutrition Video Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 red onion about 200 g peeled, thinly sliced into half-moons
  • 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar 120 ml, food-grade, labeled 5% acidity
  • 1/2 cup water 120 ml
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar about 12.5 g
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt about 6 g

Equipment

  • Clean heat-safe pint jar with lid
  • Small saucepan
  • Knife and cutting board
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Clean fork

Instructions
 

  1. Wash hands and use clean utensils. Peel and thinly slice the onion into even half-moons, about 1/8 inch thick. Pack into a clean heat-safe pint jar, leaving room for the liquid. Use an additional small clean jar if necessary.
  2. Combine vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Bring just to a simmer, stirring until the salt and sugar dissolve, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; do not boil the brine down.
  3. Pour the warm brine carefully over the onions in the heat-safe jar. Press the slices down with a clean fork so the liquid covers them. Leave about 1/2 inch headspace. Do not substitute a larger amount of water.
  4. Cover and refrigerate promptly. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving; the flavor develops further overnight. Lift portions out with a clean fork and drain as desired. Keep at 40°F/4°C or below and use within 2 weeks. This is not a shelf-stable canning recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 14kcalCarbohydrates: 3.4gProtein: 0.2gSodium: 296mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 3.1g

Video

Notes

Refrigerator-only quick pickle, not a fermented or shelf-stable product. Never store at room temperature, top up an older jar or reuse its brine. Discard if mold, an off odor or other spoilage appears; do not taste to assess safety. Estimated nutrition divides the entire 200 g onion and all brine among eight portions, using FDA onion values and label values; drained portions generally contain less brine but uptake is not measured. Vinegar label rounding affects calories. Cost basis: 200 g onion at an assumed US$2/lb ($0.88), 120 ml vinegar from $3/946 ml ($0.38), sugar and salt portions about $0.06, rounded to $1.35. NOT ANOTHER COOKING SHOW’s video demonstrates a related vinegar-pickled onion technique; follow this card’s small-batch quantities and refrigerator storage.

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