Pickling beetroot - delicious recipe ideas for everyone

Put in the beetroot and serve finely seasoned from the glass

The season for fresh tubers

The red tubers harvest season runs from September to November. Those who sow early in the year can even pluck the first specimens from the garden soil in July. The beetroot is edible at any stage of growth, but young tubers are particularly aromatic and tender. They are also popular as pickled vegetables. The beetroot season is also the best time to fill glasses with this healthy delicacy.

Tips

By the way, according to the currently applicable spelling, beetroot can also be written with two “e”. So beetroot and beetroot.

Prepare beetroot

Beetroot is only put in the preserving jar if it has been sufficiently cooked through beforehand. How to properly prepare the tubers:

Clean the tubers with a vegetable brush under running water.
Put the clean beetroot in a saucepan and add cold water and a little salt.
Bring the beetroot to a boil and simmer on low for another 30 minutes. The cooking process can take longer for large tubers.
The cooking process is complete when the shell comes off easily.
Pour off the cooking water, rinse the tubers with cold water and then let them cool down.
Peel the beetroot and cut it into pieces, slices, or leave it whole, depending on what the recipe calls for.

Tips

Wear food-safe gloves when working with beetroot, as the red juice has a strong coloring effect. The red color can also be easily removed with a squirt of lemon.

Make vinegar brew yourself

A vinegar brew keeps the beetroot sour and therefore long-lasting. It is prepared similarly for most recipes. The basis is a good vinegar, which is diluted with twice the amount of water. Mild wine vinegar is ideally suited as an acidifier, but a flavorful balsamic vinegar can also make beetroot sour. The vinegar stock is boiled with the specified amount of salt and poured hot over the beetroot, just like grandma used to do in earlier times. If the pieces should not only taste sour but also sweet and sour, add sugar to the brew.

Spices, herbs and other ingredients

Pickled beetroot is not only sour or sweet and sour, it also tolerates many other flavors. There are therefore numerous recipes that include the following ingredients in their preparation:

Onions
Apples
ginger
horseradish
Bay leaves
Cloves
Peppercorns
pimento
Orange peel
Raisins
u. A.

You can create your own recipes with these ingredients by adding them to the vinegar stock together with the beetroot.

Suitable containers

The best place to stay for pickled beetroot are glasses. These are acid-resistant, can be closed easily and do not affect the taste of the contents. It is up to you whether you buy extra glasses in stores or reuse old glasses. In any case, these have to be clean and largely free of germs. However, the temperature in the dishwasher is too low to sterilize the glasses in it.

Boil the jars in water for 10 minutes. Alternatively, the sterilization can also be done in the oven at 140 degrees Celsius. Here, too, the jars have to withstand the heat for 10 minutes to effectively kill the germs.

Recipe for spicy beetroot like grandma's

For one kilogram of beetroot you also need the following ingredients:

2 medium onions
2 bay leaves chopped into pieces
10 dried cloves
100 grams of sugar
1 teaspoon salt
700 ml of water
350 ml white wine vinegar

If you have more red tubers to process, just adjust the amount of the remaining ingredients.

preparation

Cook the beetroot as described above.
After cooling or peeling, cut the tubers into smaller pieces.
Remove the skin from the onions and cut them into fine rings.
Alternate layers of beetroot and onion in the jars.
Boil a vinegar stock from the remaining ingredients.
Fill the glasses with the still hot brew.
Seal the jars and place them on the lid until cool.

Storage and shelf life

The sweet and sour pickled beetroot, like grandma's, has a shelf life of several months. To do this, however, the glasses must be stored in a cool and dry place. If you want an even longer shelf life, you can also boil down the beetroot.

An opened glass belongs in the refrigerator until all of its contents are consumed. You shouldn't wait too long with this.

Conclusion for quick readers:

Pickling time: The harvest season from July to November is also the best time for picking
Suitable tubers: All healthy tubers are suitable, but young tubers are more aromatic and tender
The name: beetroot and beetroot, both spelling variants are correct according to the spelling rules
Cleaning: Clean the tubers with a vegetable brush under running water.
Cooking: Before pickling, beetroot must be cooked in salted water for about 30 minutes
Peeling: Rinse cooked beetroot with cold water, allow to cool and then remove the peel
Sheath: The tubers can remain whole or cut into pieces or slices
Vinegar: Vinegar makes the beetroot sour and therefore durable. Bring the vinegar to the boil with twice the amount of water
Types of vinegar: Wine vinegar is ideal, but the flavorful balsamic vinegar can also be used
Sweet and sour: If you like a sweet note, you can add sugar to the brew
Possible ingredients: onions, ginger, apples, horseradish, bay leaves, peppercorns, orange peel and many others
Suitable containers: Cleaned and germ-free jars that can be hermetically sealed
Recipe: 1 kg of beetroot, 2 medium-sized onions cut into rings
For the brew: 350 ml white wine vinegar, 700 ml water, 100 grams sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 bay leaves, 10 cloves
Step 1: boil the tubers, peel and cut into pieces; Bring the remaining ingredients to a boil
Step 2: Layer beetroot and onion rings in glasses; top up with hot brew; close tightly
Step 3: Put the jars on the lid and let them cool down; then store in a cool, dry place
Shelf life: Pickled beetroot can be kept for several months; Opened glasses are kept in the refrigerator.