This is my favorite way to eat and preserve beets. I eat these almost daily. I’ll sprinkle a few over a salad, or just eat a small bowl. I also like to put them out as part of a tapas spread. I grew up eating the sweet and sour (think sugar and vinegar) pickled beets, but ever since I started making these, I can’t go back to the old version.
I’m down to a quart of pickled beets, so this morning I dug up the remaining summer beets from the garden. These are so simple to make, and even die-hard beet-haters come around with this recipe. Plus, unlike the “canned” vinegar pickled beets, these are good for you. No added sugar and fermented vegetables benefit the digestive system. Enjoy!
Lacto-Fermented Pickled Beets
Fresh beets
Sea salt or pickling salt (no iodized salt)
Water
1. Make a brine of 1 tablespoon salt dissolved in 1 cup water.
2. Scrub beets and remove root ends and tops. You don’t want any sand in those pickles!
3. Chop beets into 1/2 inch dice and add to a quart-sized mason jar, leaving an inch of head space. Fill with the brine to cover the beets. Cover with a lid, but do not tighten the lid all the way down (leave some “give” for any fermenting gases to escape) or affix a paper towel with a rubber band to keep dust and fruit flies out.
4. Let sit on the counter for 3 days. Move to the refrigerator and let sit for at least another week or two. I find that they get better with age, and I prefer them after a few months of aging. Enjoy!
So, i tried to make these. Here’s what happened after following the recipe, and then two weeks in the fridge:
— The top 40% of the beets in the jar turned brown
— The water turned into a thick, mucusy scary syrup
I didn’t try to eat them because they looked scary.
Any ideas what went wrong?