Pickled Onions

I always call these "Astar's Pickled Onions" when I make them, Astar being a lovely presenter on the TV One Good Morning Show.  

Astar says she received the recipe from Mrs Katherine Fairweather of Invercargill and Betty Hermansson of Hastings so it's wonderful that these ladies so kindly shared this recipe, which is now my favourite pickled onion recipe.

When I grew up we always had large jars of pickled onions.  Some members of my mother's side of the family especially never visited and shared a meal without asking, "Where are the pickled onions?" if we'd forgotten to put them on the table.

Pickled onions, pineapple and cheese on skewers were another old favourite.

For Astar's Pickled Onions you will need:

Ingredients

5 lbs or 2.2 kgs of pickling onions

1 1/2 bottles of vinegar

1 lb brown sugar

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 oz ground cloves 

1/2 oz allspice

3 tbsp plain flour

2 tsp Turmeric

1/2 dsp mustard powder

+ 1 breakfast cup of salt.

Method

1.  Brine - Dissolve 1 breakfast cup of salt in 8 cups of hot water.

    Let cool then add whole but skinned onions and leave covered overnight.

2.  Next morning drain the onions well and pack them into cleaned,  sterilized preserving jars.

3.  Boil together the vinegar and brown sugar.

4.  Mix curry powder, cloves, allspice, flour and turmeric with enough cold vinegar to make a paste.

5.  Stir into vinegar/sugar and boil until thick.  Pour this mixture over the onions in the jars until they are covered and seal.

    Stand for 3 weeks before using.