Beets are a year-round seasonal vegetable in the pacific northwest, and our farm box has beets nearly every week. Fermented beets are one of our favourite recipes. Salty, sour and naturally sweet, they are absolutely delicious.
Healthy Probiotic Beets
Beets are naturally full of antioxidants. They are a great source of vitamins and minerals, and are beneficial for a number of health concerns including diabetes and heart disease. This is why beets form the basis for my immune-boosting kvass as well as a simple salty beet kvass, and a sweet beet kvass.
Pickled beets are a perfect addition to most any meal. I especially love them with a ploughman’s lunch. There’s something wonderful about the combination of pickled vegetables and cheese. Here are a few more dishes featuring pickled beets:
- A purple addition to a probiotic potato salad.
- Add them to a healthy and wholesome buddha bowl.
- Use them in a beet kvass salad.
- I like using the beet brine to make dark purple pickled eggs.
Pickled Beets
Pickled beets are a perfect addition to most any meal. This recipe is for fermented beets that are probiotic and delicious!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 Quart Jar 1x
- Category: Pickles
- Method: Fermented
Ingredients
- 6 medium sized beets
- 1 1/2 tsp non-iodized salt
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar (optional)
- Filtered water to cover (chlorine free)
Instructions
- Scrub the beets, then chop them into bite-sized pieces. Wear gloves if you don’t want pink fingers!
- Pack the beet slices into a sterilized jar. At this point you can add spices and flavours. See the section below on different options for flavouring beet pickles.
- Add the cider vinegar (if you are using it.)
- Dissolve the salt in a 1/2 cup of water. Pour over the beets and top with water to cover. There is no need to weigh down the beets as they usually don’t float.
- Leave the jar to ferment at room temperature for about 3-7 days.
- Store in the refrigerator and consume within 1 month.
Notes
- Beets don’t require a starter culture to ferment. Organically grown beets naturally have a lactic bacterial culture. However, I like the added tanginess provided by fermented cider vinegar, so I always add a little to every jar.
- If you want to reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp, then increase the cider vinegar to 1/4 cup and only ferment for 3 days. This will result in a pickled beet that is more vinegary than salty.
Keywords: probiotic, fall, winter
Flavours for Pickled Beets
- Sweet cinnamon beets: Add 1 cinnamon stick and 3 whole cloves to each quart jar.
- Tradition pickle: Use 1 tbsp pickling spice with a sprig of fresh dill.
- Caraway: This is delicious with cheese. Add 2 tsp caraway and 5 black peppercorns to each jar.
- Garlic-y: Add 1-2 cloves of garlic per jar. Ferment with cider vinegar and only for 3 days to ensure a good pickle.
- Hot and spicy: Add slices of a hot pepper with the seeds. The final heat of the beets will depend on the spiciness of the pepper.
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