Few Questions On Pickling Produce

Hi everyone,

Grew quite a few shallots this year and they seem a bit too small to use in cooking so it's been suggested to me that I pickle them instead. Pretty simple I thought, until I started looking into what vinegar I need to use to preserve them in.

Some recipes just ask for "vinegar" but when it seems there's no such thing as straight forward vinegar. What type should I be using? Malt, balsamic, white wine, cider etc? Also I noticed I can buy ready made pickled vinegar from tescos but wonder if it's cheaper / better to make my own.

Any wisdom anyone can share on this craft would be greatly appreciated.

 

I've just use any vinegar for pickling, now i may learn some thing as well ??

 

It needs to be 5% acidity or above for pickling, you can get away with the cheap 4% stuff if you're going to eat them soon.

I buy the basic 5% stuff & then add my own spices, peppercorns, allspice, cinamon etc.

Heat it up & then just let the spices sit in it for a while.

 

My Mom always just used plain white vinegar. She did a LOT of canning but I have never had a go myself.

 

Personally I find the bought pickling vinegar far too 'in-your-face' to be even remotely pleasant, as a result I make 'sweet' pickled onions (or rather sweet pickled shallots).

I use white malt vinegar and to each litre add 180g granulated sugar, heat the mix to dissolve the sugar then boil it for 2 mins., turn off the heat and allow to cool. I peel the shallots, bury them in salt and leave for 24 hours. Next day, fish out the shallots and rinse thoroughly (the damp salt can be dried in the oven and re-used), pack them into cold sterilised jars and pour the cold vinegar over, tapping out as much air as possible.

These can be used in as little as 2 weeks but I have kept them for over a year and they're still good and crispy.