[willowman]

Trying to pickle onions for first time.
Made some brine as per john's recipe - 1lb salt to 2.5 pints water, brought to the boil - but the salt has separated as it cooled down.
Another book says 1lb salt to 1 gallon of water.
Another recipe doesn't use brine at all, just put onions in vinegar.
Please, what should I do?

[mumofstig]

If you stir the salt it should dissolve.

Anyway, don't worry about it the brine is only to remove some of the moisture from the onions, to let the vinegar get right in.
Just carry on with your recipe....it'll be fine

[willowman]

Thanks again MOS.
I did get the salt to dissolve but as the brine cooled it separated from the water.
Have decided, as you suggest, just to add more water and plonk the onions in it overnight.
As the instructions I've read vary so much it can't do much harm just to go for it.

I used to have a friend who was afraid of cooking because he was worried about following the instructions to the letter. For instance, if the recipe said "thinly slice the onions" he didn't know how "thin" was "thin".
I told him it didn't really matter, just go for it and all will turn out OK.
I should listen to my own advice.