Why Pickles Belong Beside the Cheese

There is a reason a good ploughman's lunch never arrives without a spoonful of something sharp. Mature cheddar is rich, salty and slightly crumbly; a sweet-sour pickle cuts straight through that richness and resets your palate for the next bite. Shop-bought jars will do in a pinch, but the homemade versions are a different creature altogether — crunchier, less sugary, and seasoned exactly the way you like them.

Late summer and early autumn are the ideal moment to start. Pickling onions are at their best from August through October, and beetroot is coming out of the ground sweet and deep-coloured. Both pickles need a few weeks in the jar to settle, so make them now and they will be ready for the Christmas cheese board — or for a quiet Sunday lunch with crusty bread and a slab of butter.

Getting the Jars Right

Sterilising is not optional, and it is not difficult. Skip it and you risk mould, fizzing lids and a sad afternoon tipping a fortnight's work down the sink.

• Wash jars and lids in hot soapy water, rinse well, then place them upside down in an oven at 140°C (fan 120°C) for 15 minutes. Leave them there until you are ready to fill.
• Alternatively, run them through a hot dishwasher cycle and fill while still warm. Never fill cold jars with hot vinegar — they can crack.
• Check that lids are undamaged and that any rubber seals are intact. Vinegar will eat through corroded metal over time.
• Use jars with vinegar-proof lids, or place a disc of greaseproof paper under the lid as a barrier.

Fill jars while both the jars and the pickling liquid are still warm, press the contents down so they are fully submerged, and seal straight away. Label with the date — you will thank yourself later.

Pickled Onions: The Classic

Small pickling onions, sometimes sold as silverskin or button onions, are what you want. Peel them, and if you have sensitive eyes, do it under a running cold tap — it really does help.

The traditional method is to salt the onions overnight. Layer them in a bowl with plenty of salt (roughly 50g per kilo of onions) and leave for 12 to 24 hours. This draws out water, keeps them crisp and stops them going soft in the jar. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry.

For the vinegar, a good spiced pickling vinegar makes all the difference. Warm 700ml of malt vinegar gently with 2 tablespoons of pickling spice, a couple of bay leaves, a few black peppercorns and 100g of sugar. Do not let it boil hard — you only want the spices to release their oils. Let it cool slightly, then strain.

Pack the onions into jars with a dried chilli or a few extra peppercorns if you like a bit of heat, cover with the warm vinegar, and seal. They will be edible after three weeks but truly good after two to three months.

Beetroot: Sweet, Sharp and Deeply Coloured

Beetroot needs cooking first, unlike onions. Boil whole, unpeeled roots in plenty of water for 40 minutes to two hours depending on size, until a knife slides in easily. Drain, cool slightly, then rub off the skins with your hands — wear gloves unless you want pink fingers for a day.

Slice into 5mm rounds or cut into wedges. For the liquid, warm 500ml of cider vinegar with 150g of sugar, a cinnamon stick, a few cloves, a star anise and a teaspoon of salt. Cider vinegar gives a rounder, fruitier finish than malt and suits the earthy sweetness of the beetroot beautifully.

Pack the beetroot into jars with a sliced red onion if you fancy it, pour over the hot vinegar, and seal. These are ready in about a week and keep for months.

• Golden beetroot works just as well and looks striking on a board, though it stains less enthusiastically.
• Add a spoonful of horseradish to the jar for a fiery edge that loves a strong cheddar.
• Keep jars in a cool, dark cupboard and once opened, store in the fridge.

Small-Space Growing for Next Year

You do not need an allotment. Pickling onions and beetroot are both well suited to containers, and a sunny windowsill, balcony or small back yard is plenty.

Beetroot is the easiest win. Choose a round variety rather than a long one, sow into a deep pot of at least 25cm depth, and thin the seedlings to about 8cm apart. Sow a few seeds every three weeks from April to July for a steady supply, and harvest when the roots are golf-ball to tennis-ball size — bigger ones turn woody.

Pickling onions can be grown from sets planted in early spring in a large trough or raised bed. They need light, free-draining soil and a sunny spot. Pull them when the tops yellow and flop over, then cure them on a warm windowsill or in a shed for a fortnight before pickling. Homegrown onions are smaller and sharper than shop ones, which makes them ideal for the jar.

If space is truly tight, a couple of large pots of beetroot will give you enough for four or five jars. That is a generous return for a windowsill.

Serving Your Pickles

Drain the pickles well before they hit the plate — nobody wants vinegar pooling under the cheese. Serve them at room temperature, not straight from the fridge, where the flavours go muted and flat.

Build your board with a mature cheddar or a crumbly Lancashire, a wedge of something soft, and a crusty bloomer or sourdough cut thick. Add a few pickled onions, a heap of beetroot, some salted butter and a handful of walnuts. That is a lunch worth sitting down for.

Give the jars a proper three months before you judge them, and make double next year. You will be glad you did.