Winter Balsamic Red Onion Marmalade

Peggy doesn’t rush good things.

When the roots come in and the kitchen smells of earth and onions, she reaches for the balsamic and lets time do the rest. This winter red onion marmalade is one of her most requested jars. Deep, dark, and quietly addictive.The jar everyone asks for… and quietly guards.

This is deep-winter comfort cooking. Slow, glossy, and unapologetically indulgent. A spoonful of this turns the plainest plate into something worth lingering over. Make one jar if you must. Make three if you’re wise.

Ingredients

• 1 kg red onions, thinly sliced

• 2 tbsp olive oil or butter

• 3 tbsp brown sugar or dark muscovado

• 100 ml balsamic vinegar

• 1 tsp salt

Optional winter extras

• 1 sprig thyme or rosemary

• A pinch of black pepper or cloves

Method

1. Warm the oil or butter in a wide pan over low heat. Add the onions and salt.

2. Cook gently for 20–30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onions collapse into soft, sweet ribbons. No rushing. This is where the flavour is built.

3. Stir in the sugar and let it melt into the onions.

4. Pour in the balsamic vinegar and add the herbs or spices, if using.

5. Simmer gently for 25–40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is dark, glossy, and spoonable.

6. Remove the herbs, cool slightly, then spoon into clean jars.

How to Use It

• Alongside cheese boards. Cheddar, brie, blue all approve.

• With sausages, burgers, and pies. Especially pies.

• As a finishing touch for roast beef or cold cuts.

• Spread thickly on hot buttered toast and pretend you made it for guests.

Victory Tip

If it thickens too much in the jar, loosen with a teaspoon of warm water and stir. If it doesn’t thicken enough, simmer a little longer. Marmalade waits for no one, but it rewards patience.

Rich, reliable, and quietly addictive. This is the sort of preserve that earns its place on the table and never quite makes it to the back of the fridge.