Onions



Onions

André Beaurain ~ March 18, 2015

Autumn is the time to sow Onions.  They don’t like the heat in Summer, very peculiar.  Harvest in January or February,  preferably in striped pajamas.

 

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Alet,  André’s Mother, showing Corné how to plait the onions so that you can hang them up.  This is a trick passed on from Mother to Daughter, so boys can’t do this yet.  But the eager will prevail….

 

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Small Pearl sized onions get the Honor of being Pickled, one of my favorite things in life.

Life is  bliss…

Making the Vinegar for the Pickled Onions,  use a  Bain -marie (just a fancy word for double cooking in water)  and add bouquet garni, ( another  fancy word for all your favorite herbs bagged up)  But we don’t even bother with the bag,  because we don’t mind the herbs in between the Pearl Onions in the jar… I think its quite gorgeous.

Herbs:   This recipe is for 1L of Vinegar,  Yes the  normal- cheap- in- the- plastic- bottle -wine vinegar.  Brown is also ok, dont phone me.

12 Black Pepper Corns… but who’s counting..

10 Cloves….. do count!

10 Coriander seeds

10 Mustard seeds

4  Bay leaves

1 Bouquet garni  (Oreganum, Thyme, Parsley, Tarragon)

2 Chillies  or 5…

5 Cloves of Garlic peeled

Bring to a boil and cook for 5 min.  Voila it’s ready…

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To peel the Onions.  Cut the ends off.  Throw them in boiling water. Just for a second or two. Peel.  Now you can either cover them with coarse salt, a lot,  and leave them over night,  Or throw them in water with a lot of coarse salt, and put something  on top of them so that they stay immersed.  Either way is good, and taste exactly the same.  Who knew!

Next day rinse the onions under running water, and  pat dry.

Sterilize the Bottles before packing in the dry onions, and then add the Vinagar.  No not the one in the plastic bottle, the one you just cooked.

 

 

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Hang the onions in a dry dark place,  like in the barn, away form the rats and Angel, the parrot, who loves onions.

The Pickles will take 15 days and will last a year in the jar.  But that is being ridiculous.  A year, really,  I finish them all on day 16.