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Never judge a book by its cover – or in this case: a vegetable by its appearance. Beetroots are not the prettiest of veggies. They are plump, dirty and make a hell of a mess when cut up. But if you get to know them, you’ll love them. You can eat them raw, cooked, steamed, boiled or roasted and preserve them by freezing, pickling, canning or fermenting them. Add to that a wonderfully unique taste and a bunch of nutrients and you have a veggie superstar! If you don’t know how to deal with an abundance of beetroots, look no further. In this post, I’ll show you two recipes for pickled beetroots so that you can enjoy their flavour and colour all winter long.

Pickled beetroots I

Yield: 5 jars of 350 ml
Shelf life: up to two years

Ingredients

1,2 kg beetroots
3/4 l apple vinegar
1/8 l water
80 g sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp grated horseradish
1 tbsp white peppercorns
1 tbsp caraway
5 cloves
1 bay leaf

Instructions

1. Put on an apron and always – ALWAYS – wear disposable gloves when handling beetroots. Otherwise, the stains will never come out of your clothes and your hands will have a butcherlike colour for quite some time.

2. Cut off the leaves to about 1 cm and put the beetroots onto a baking tray. Bake them in the oven at a temperature of 175 °C (350 °F) for 60 – 90 minutes, depending on their thickness. When they feel soft, they’re ready.

Put your beetroots onto a tray and bake them in the oven for about 1 – 1,5 hours.

3. In the meantime, mix the vinegar, sugar and salt and put it to a boil. Wash the horseradish, peel it and grate it.

4. Peel the cooked beetroots and chop them into squares. I do not recommend slices as they fall apart easily.

5. Layer the still-warm beetroots with the spices into jars. Fill up with the hot fluid and close the jars tightly with lids. Store the pickled beetroots in a cool and dark place.

Pickled Beetroot I

A savoury side dish made of beetroots

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course: Preserve, Side Dish

Cuisine: German

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1,2 kg beetroots
• ¾ l apple vinegar
• ⅛ l water
• 80 g sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp grated horseradish
• 1 tbsp caraway
• 5 cloves
• 1 bay leaf

Method

 

1. Put on an apron and always - ALWAYS - wear disposable gloves when handling beetroots. Otherwise, the stains will never come out of your clothes and your hands will have a butcherlike colour for quite some time.
2. Cut off the leaves to about 1 cm and put the beetroots onto a baking tray. Bake them in the oven at a temperature of 175 °C (350 °F) for 60 - 90 minutes, depending on their thickness. When they feel soft, they're ready.
3. In the meantime, mix the vinegar, sugar and salt and put it to a boil. Wash the horseradish, peel it and grate it.
4. Peel the cooked beetroots and chop them into squares. I do not recommend slices as they fall apart easily.
5. Layer the still-warm beetroots with the spices into jars. Fill up with the hot fluid and close the jars tightly with lids. Store the pickled beetroots in a cool and dark place.

Pickled beetroots II

If you like it a bit milder, the following recipe will suit you! It uses apple juice in combination with vinegar which leads to a more fruity taste. As we use less vinegar, however, the shelf life is only up to one year when stored in a cool place.

Yield: 5 jars of 350 ml
Shelf life: up to one year

Ingredients

1,2 kg beetroots
1 l water
3/8 l apple juice
1/8 l apple vinegar
100 g sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp caraway

Instructions

The procedure is pretty much the same as in recipe I:

1. Cut off the leaves to about 1 cm and put the beetroots onto a baking tray. Bake them in the oven at a temperature of 175 °C (350 °F) for 60 – 90 minutes, depending on their thickness. When they feel soft, they’re ready.

2. In the meantime, mix the vinegar, sugar and salt and put it to a boil.

3. Peel the cooked beetroots and chop them into squares.

Once baked and peeled, chop the beetroots into squares

4. Layer the still warm beetroots with the spices into jars. Fill up with the hot fluid and close the jars tightly with lids. Store the pickled beetroots in a cool and dark place.

Pickled Beetroots II

This is a recipe for a milder version of pickled beetroots. The combination of apple vinegar and apple juice takes the edge off the vinegar while at the same time adding a fruity aroma to the pickles.

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Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Baking 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Course: Preserve, Side Dish

Cuisine: German

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1,2 kg beetroots
• 1 l water
• ⅜ l apple juice
• ⅛ l apple vinegar
• 100 g sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp caraway

Method

 

1. 1. Put on an apron and always - ALWAYS - wear disposable gloves when handling beetroots. Otherwise, the stains will never come out of your clothes and your hands will have a butcherlike colour for quite some time.
2. Cut off the leaves to about 1 cm and put the beetroots onto a baking tray. Bake them in the oven at a temperature of 175 °C (350 °F) for 60 - 90 minutes, depending on their thickness. When they feel soft, they're ready.
3. In the meantime, mix the vinegar, sugar and salt and put it to a boil.
4. Peel the cooked beetroots and chop them into squares.
5. Layer the still warm beetroots with the spices into jars. Fill up with the hot fluid and close the jars tightly with lids. Store the pickled beetroots in a cool and dark place.

Pickled beetroots can be eaten with a cold supper or some sandwiches, but they also make a wonderful side dish to potatoes and herring as well as boiled beef. If you want to go a bit further you can make this tasty spread with pickled beetroots.