Linda Ziedrich in The Joy of Pickling has two pickled shallot recipes. Neither calls for brining. Those are refrigerator pickles, not canned.

She also has an English-Style Pub Onion which does call for 8-10 hours of brining. She says it keeps the onions crisp. Again, refrigerated, not canned.

For a canned pickled onion or shallot I'd probably add pickle crisp.

I don't know if this helps or not, but I thought I'd share her take on it.

Carol

Thanks Carol.
I think I will go ahead and try the brining and use traditional Malt Vinegar.
Nothing ventured nothing gained. Good thing I am not making pecks of this wow Malt Vinegar is pricy.

I did find I had a UK sauces,chutney, jam, jelly, pickle book and in there they also brine the onions.

Will let you know how they turned out

I did a little more searching in my own collection. I found an old pickled onion recipe I'd pulled from rec.food.preserving's FAQ. It calls for malt vinegar (undiluted so no safety worries), cloves, peppercorns, blade mace, allspice, salt (taste, not brining), and honey as the sweetener, which I think sounds lovely.

I also have a second one, same source, which is a slight variation as it does call for brining. Same malt vinegar, but cloves, allspice, cinnamon stick, mace, peppercorns, chilli (optional) and again, honey as the sweetener.

Supposedly onions stay more crisp with honey than sugar, though I can't imagine why.

I was fortunate enough to run across a gallon! of malt vinegar. It's sitting on the shelf until I figure out what I want to do with it. Originally I planned to replicate a Branston-style pickle. Just one of many projects still on the list.

Carol

Carol, for all the pickling recipes I have in this Uk book, they all call for Malt Vinegar, intresting.
It's ashame here, the local grocery store that has more for home preserving than other chains has, apparently stopped bottling 1/2 gallon or gallon sized of different vinegars.
I went last night to get a 1/2 gallon of red wine vinegar and now they only have the small glass bottles. The Malt was Heinz @ 3.49 for a small glass bottle.
If I like this I may have to have the DBF haul over a gallon when he comes in Sept or order online, lol.

Care to share the recipes? So far I have 10 books sitting out and the office is getting full! Not a one has honey, and most only have 1 tbsp of sugar

Sure. Also, do you have Oded Schwartz's book Preserving? It's a gorgeous British book with a lot of traditional recipes. I wouldn't always follow his recommendations for shelf storage, but he's always good for ideas.

His pickled onions are brined but he says he finds malt vinegar a little too harsh for pickling and prefers cider vinegar. (Though he acknowledges malt is better for color retention.) However, his pickled onions use a Spiced Vinegar or Perfumed Vinegar (both his seasoning formulas) and do not call for any sugar whatsoever.

Herewith the two rec.food.preserving recipes. No punctuation, just pulled as I got them from the forum.

pickled onions
this recipe calls for a sweet mixture that has honey added as the sweetener.

the onions must be allowed to stand in the vinegar for at least 1 month before using. the honey adds a great crunch to the onions.

as many small onions as you can be bothered peeling.
2 litres of malt vinegar
1 tblspns whole cloves
1 tblspn whole peppercorns
1 tblspn blade mace
1 tblspn of whole allspice
1 tblspn salt

as much honey as will make the mixture sweet to the taste.
bring the mixture to the boil and allow to cool before pouring the spiced vinegar over the onions.

great pickled onions

the secret is to use honey instead of sugar, it makes the onions very crisp.

1kg (2lb) tiny pickling onions peeled (drop them into hot water for a couple of minutes, it will help to get the skins off)

1/3rd cup of salt
1 tspn salt
4 cups of malt vinegar (or use white wine vinegar if you want a milder flavour, you can, if you wish to cut back the vinegar flavour even more, use 1/4 water to replace 1/4 of the vinegar)
3/4 cup of honey
1 tblspn of pickling spice (cloves, allspice, cinnamon stick, mace,
peppercorns)
chilli (optional)

soak the peeled onions in fresh water with the 1/3 cup of salt for 48 hours.

remove and drain well.

bring the vinegar to the boil, add the honey, salt, spices and chilli, taste to see if you have made it sweet enough, add more honey if not. allow to cool.

place the well dried onions in a jar and cover with the cooled mixture. place a top on and leave for 2 weeks

Believe it or not, some Walmart stores carry Heinz malt vinegar. If you go to the Walmart site and do a search for malt vinegar then enter your zip code you'll get a list of stores with a stock number. You can save a trip by calling and seeing if it's currently in stock. Walmart has reduced its stock, but it's worth a try.

For mail order you might try the site below. Jars are plastic so no breakage worries. Shipping costs add, but it's a lot less difficult than bringing it on a plane from the U.K.

I've ordered Golden Syrup and Treacle online with no problems, though not from this company. There are other British Expat stores online, so mail order is possible from a number of sites.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Sarson's Malt Vinegar

Hmmn, an afterthought. Maybe pickled onions do stay crisper with honey because it's not a dessicant like sugar?

Carol

do you have Oded Schwartz's book Preserving? Not sure, will have to look around.
Will have to compare recipes and methods I suppose.

I agree about, a hummmm, on the storage directions of many of the recipes from across the pond.

Our Walmart carries the Malt in the 12oz size, seems our super store is more Mexican influenced for ethnic goods, such as 5gal buckets of lard.

My sweetie doesn't mind bringing over food, the ginger snaps, or ginger nuts as the brits call them are far superior to what we can get here. He usually has one suitcase of candies,chocolates, PG tips, cookies, Irish whiskey,(for my best friend) whatever anyone wants. I go online to Tescos (their counterpart to Walmart) and give him the order. Or the DIL gets for me.
I want some of the curry pastes next trip.

He buys alot of clothes here, no sales tax in Pa and with the VAT on just about everything there he says cheaper here.

BTW, Tescos has alot of recipes online, fun to look at.

You are lucky. I would kill for a Thorntons dark chocolate bar with ginger. It's probably just as well they're not available.

Ginger snaps I just bake as well as damp gingerbread. Now that's a favorite.

If you can't find the Schwartz book I can post the vinegar recipes if you'd like. His pickled onions are a bit more "savory" as in addition to the seasoned vinegar he calls for mustard seed, bay leaves, dried chili peppers.

Carol

If you can post, the recipes, that would be great!
I have all kinds of mustard seed to use up,yellow, brown and black.

Yes, I am lucky gees the 240 ct box of tea is 30.00 over here. Now to find the licorice toffee similar to Collard and Bowser.

Liz

Oded Schwartz's Preserving is a Dorling-Kindersley book (DK Publishers), well worth looking for just for the pictures. 1996.

Pickled Onions

2 1/2 lb. silverskin or small onions
salt
4 tsp. mustard seed
2 bay leaves
2-4 dried red chilies (optional)
Simple Spiced Vinegar or Perfumed Vinegar to cover

1. Blanch the onions. Place in a glass bowl, cover with water, then drain it off into a measuring cup. Add 1 T. salt for every 4 cups water. Pour over the onions and weight down. Let stand 24 hours.

2. Rinse onions and arrange in the jars with the mustard seed, bay leaves and chilies, if using. Pour in the vinegar to cover. Drain off and boil for 2 minutes.

3. Pour the vinegar back over the onions, making sure they are submerged, then seal. Onions will be ready in 3-4 weeks.

He says yield is about 2 pints and life is 2 years, refrigerated.

Note: Mixture can also be used with pickled beets, but do not brine.

Spiced Vinegars (Schwartz provides 6 variations. These are the two specified for the Pickled Onions.)

He notes vinegar must be 5% acidity. He prefers cider vinegar for pickling. He feels it complements pickles. For a sweet version he recommends 2-4 T. of white or light brown sugar or honey per 4 cups vinegar.

As he says, "Experiment."

Per 8 cups vinegar:

1. Simple Spiced Vinegar
2 T. peppercorns
2 T. mustard seed
1 T. cloves
2 tsp. crumbled blade mace
2 nutmegs, broken in pieced
2-3 dried chilies, crushed (optional)
1 cinnamon stick, crushed
2-3 bay leaves
1 T. salt

2. Perfumed Vinegar

2-in. piece of fresh ginger, sliced
2 T. coriander
1 T. black peppercorns
1 T. cardamom pods
1 T. allspice berries
2 tsp. cloves
1 cinnamon stick, crushed
2 tsp. salt

Method:

1. For each vinegar, tie all the flavorings, except the salt, in a piece of cheesecloth or spice bag. Place in a noncorrosive saucepan with the salt and vinegar. Bring to a boil and boil for about 10 minutes.

2. Let cool, then remove the spice bag. Filter the vinegar if it is cloudy. Pour into sterilized bottles, then seal. Vinegar is ready immediately, but improves with age.

Shelf life 2 years.

Carol

Thanks! 1996 for publication I may not have that one. During that time I was a Chef at a Country Club, had a 2year old and was juggling a fellowship program.
Needless to say, I wasn't canning at that time, I didn't have time.