Quick Pickled Onions

I love red onions for the taste and the color they add, but not for the breath they give me. Pickling takes away the bad breath problem, while maintaining the onion flavor and the color. And it’s so easy! I like to have these on hand to add to salads and sandwiches.

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

2/3 cup water

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons salt

1 red onion, cut into strips or rings

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. Simmer until the sugar and salt dissolve. Place the onions in a medium bowl, and pour the vinegar mixture over the onions. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.

Drain the onions you want to use, and refrigerate the remainder in the vinegar mixture to use later. Pickling preserves the onions, so they will keep indefinitely, pickling slightly more. I have used pickled onions more than a month after pickling, and they were fine, but I usually use them before a month is up.