Pickling beetroot

[moran73]

I am new to pickling and have a load of beetroot that i have grown in my garden which i want to do something with. Can anyone let me know what i need and how i pickle these.

Also i know that the leaves are edible but don't know how to prepare/cook them either.

[Allexie]

Here's St Delia's posh way of doing it...

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/r_0000000909.asp

but I just boil the beetroot til tender then skin and slice into jars...boil and then simmer for 5 mins a mix of white vinegar, bay leaf, half teaspoon of peppercorns, couple of cloves, half cinnamon stick - pour over beetroot in jars and seal....


But....imho...beetroot is at its best just boiled, (or roast), and served hot as a vegetable with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt.

[squeaky]

Hiya,

I haven't a clue about pickling them myself but the person who wrote a good looking article about it seems to

To see the article ---> Click Here

The tender new leaves can be served (washed) in a salad. Older ones can be boiled for a few minutes, pressed dry, and served with a knob of butter.

[16011996]

I Microwave My Beetroot, Top And Tail, Put In A Dish With The Base Just Covered In Water, Cover With Cling Film And Pierce It, And Cook On Full For 15 Mins, Then Cool, Peel Slice And Put In Jars, Fill With Half Vinegar, Half Water.

Hth

160.

[Pal]

The leaves can be used instead of spinage and can be cooked the same way. Tastes better than spinage IMO and means you get two veg for the price of one if you are buying them. I refuse to buy beetroot unless the shop has left the leaves on.

Personally I prefer beetroot raw in salads. Slice thinly with some slices pear and sliced apple, pour on a little good olive oil, salt, pepper and serve. The fruit really softens the beetroot taste. Even my 2 year old son eats beetroot this way.

Alternatively add some thinly sliced boiled beetroot to cooked rice along with apple, sultanas and whatever else you have around that you think might work. If you cook the rice in the beetroot water it goes purple.

P.s. Pickled beetroot is absolutely disgusting. Worse than olives. Yuk Yuk Yuk!!! Don't do it. (And remember Rhubarb's only culinary use is in crumbles.)

[moran73]

thanks for everyones tips - i'm going to have a busy weekend of experimentation

[bektoria]

Morning everyone, hope you are having a good weekend.

I have received loads of beetroot in my veg bag and thought of pickling beetroot for Christmas. I am unsure though if I can use 'normal vinegar' or do I have to use a special type ? Any advice will be gratefully received !

Thanks alot,
Bek x

[GreenFingers]

Hello Bektoria,

I only pickle Eggs and Onions myself but the link below will advise on pickling Beetroot. It looks quite straight forward so may try it myself next year.

Hope this helps.

http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk...ickledbeetroot

[Sarahsaver]

I did some of mine in white vinegar and some in ordinary malt vinegar. Because of the beetroot colout you can't notice the difference

[henhog]

Marguerite Patten says to use spiced vinegar. You can buy pickling spices your self or use any spices you might have, either alone or in combination - for example, chilli, cinnamon bark, corianderseeds, mustard seeds etc.

Basically, depending on your taste you put 1 teaspoon to one tablespoon of spice to one pint of vinegar. For well spiced vinegar you boil it for 15 mins, less if you want it less spicy. HTH.

[arkonite_babe]

I did some myself this year (goodness knows what it will be like by Christmas!)

I used the spiced vinegar for pickling, Dad gave it to me so I'm not sure where to buy it.

I boiled my beets in the skins then peeled. I wore gloves as it's a messy job, the put the beets into warmed sterilised mason jars, filled up with pickling vinegar and sealed up.


HTH

[scuzz]

Mum normally does it in malt vinegar

[gooismeid]

Some other ideas on what to do with your organic beets! I can recommend the roast balsamic beetroot as an accompaniment to cold sliced meats (my kids weren't very impressed but I don't think they'd ever seen purple chips before)

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homep...etroot7.htm#hv

[Swan]

I used to do mine in ordinary brown malt vinegar. but one year I grew a load of pink beetroot & I did them in white vinegar, they were not only tasty but looked spectacular! worth trying if you have a veg plot or know someone obliging who would grow a few for you

[lin473]

We grow beetroot and my favourite way of eating it is to boil peel and slice then sprinkle with vinegar. Tastes much nicer than pickled as the vinegar drowns the flavour of the beetroot.
Obviously it doesn't keep as long,(about a week in the fridge),so I usually freeze some after cooking and defrost as needed.
The texture is slightly different,but I still prefer it to pickled!

[bektoria]

Big thank you to you all, I knew I could rely on you all !!!!

Bek x

[icecoolbabe]

I used to be able to buy pickled beetroot in MALT vinegar with no sweet taste at all to it, in most supermarkets, but it seems to be becoming scarce in favour of beetroot in spirit vinegar or worse - sweet vinegar.

I checked the mega index and read the thread about beetroot - nothing there regarding pickling - and no seperate thread on any pickling so....

does anyone pickle their own beetroot?

If so - can they please oblige and give me a recipe?

It's the non sweet, sharp malt vinegar flavour I'm after.

And is sugar an essential part of the process? It seems to be in every jar of shop bought stuff I have looked at recently - but it's a while since I have been able to get hold of the malt vinegar sharp tasting version so I'm not sure if it's in that or not.

(Seems Haywards don't make it anymore - only a sweet version - or if they do the shops near me don't stock it).

Thank you

[sashacat]

I always bottle my beetroot in malt vinegar....just boil it ,peel it and put in jars and cover with the malt vinegar and it is always fine for about 6 months.

[demented]

Yes i agree with Sashacat. We love pickled beetroot and have been pickling
it for years. Just use Malt vinegar. We are still eating some from last year
And its fine. OH used to be a "Proper" Chef and so is a real fuss pot where
food is concerned and i pickle the beetroot and he's happy with it. So basically just use Malt vinegar.

[culpepper]

Mum used to buy beetroot and boil it then immediately cover it in vinegar in a dish.She kept it in the fridge.I had never tasted it without vinegar until I was an adult. She used to do the same with cucumber.