There was I, enjoying a delicious lunchtime slice of Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, when I noticed the rather strange label on my jar of Pickled Onions.
They are described as Pickled TRADITIONAL ONIONS. Not (as one might imagine) Traditional PICKLED ONIONS.
What on earth are 'traditional onions'? Are there non-traditional onions?
I think we should be told!
27 comments:
Brown onions of course.
I grow Red Onions, but they're too big to pickle!
Hmm... do you think they got the Traditional and Pickled the wrong way round?
A 'work experience' lad, who'd failed his O Level English maybe.
Traditional onions are onions that stand up when The National Anthem is being played. They also go to church on Sundays and enjoy cricket and scones.
If you wish to enter the grammar war your suggestion should read "traditionally pickled onions", ie the onions are pickled in the traditional way. (-ly, adverb).
As is,and to give M&S the benefit of the doubt, chiming in with Andrew above, the onions are pickled and they are traditional, brown onions (smallish) not that foreign muck, say, shallots. Perish the thought. Or the TRADITIONAL is just free floating like a header. The "pickled onions" the actual job description.
Good luck with today's lunch,
U
Well, they should have written that on the Jar!
Maybe 'Onions, traditionally pickled' would be more to your taste. With only three words available, I've now come to the end of my suggestions.
I know with smoked salmon if it says Scottish smoked salmon it’s smoked in Scotland but might not be Scottish salmon but if it says smoked Scottish salmon it will be salmon from Scotland . If it said Traditional pickled onions, that could mean they were pickled in the traditional way rather than the onions being traditional ….. if you know what I mean ? XXXX
Don't you know your onions? There are red onions, brown onions and Japanese onions, ask Northsider, fresh onions, dried onions, spring onions and traditional onions. Traditional onions are what I'm trying find so I can pickle them. All I can find are those huge red ones. If I was in England I'd be eating those pickled traditionals too. With pork pie and a good tasty traditional cheese
Yes, I definitely think this is what has happened, somebody's got it all the wrong way round. The standard of grammar and spelling these days is dreadful, I was watching a programme on TV the other night and they showed a map of Scotland to show where Banff was. It was spelt Bamff!
I think the ones for pickling are Shallots.
Pickling sized onions are sold here in garden shops already treated with fertiliser. They produce large onions, middle size onions and fresh onions. Large onions go in everything, middle size onions go in stews with rabbit or octopus, fresh onions go in a lettuce salad. Onions in jars are unknown and sniffed at suspiciously.
I cut the middle sized ones in half to pickle em. And that's me onioned out
I certainly hope you're right.
That sounds like what we had for lunch today; with a little soup as well.
I have just this minute used the last of my big Red Onions from France. Far too big for 'pickling', but finely sliced they do make a good 'instant pickle' (vinegar, salt, sugar, left for an hour or two)
Little onions are the little white boiling ones that are pickled and are also used in cocktails and the ones used in beef bourguignon!
In the UK they're usually a bit bigger and more rustic. They are slightly sweet, and should have a good crunch. The little white ones are quite different, and as you say, are more for cocktails.
At least it wasn't 'Bumff'.
No such thing as a traditional onion sadly - just bad teaching.
I read the label and the content list to decipher exactly what is in the jar. "Traditional" covers a lot of ground!
Unless someone thought they were being 'clever'?
Yes, traditional vinegar, traditional salt, and traditional sugar!
I remember loving pickled onions for a long while then one day I didn't. Don't know why.
My husband was deployed, I took a break in the garden center, the Spring shipment of shrubbery was front & center. In the middle of 6 pallets of Holly, there was an odd shrub, tall with muliple sticks. The label caused me to burst into laughter. "Willow, French Pussy"
One more thing they are keeping secret!
Coincidentally I, too, had a Melton Mowbray pie with pickled onions described as "Waitrose crunchy and tangy pickled onions in malt vinegar". Whether they were traditional I couldn't say but they were very enjoyable.
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