We Can Phickle That! is a weekly feature that will run from now through the end of produce season(s), I’ll be hitting up the farmers markets in search of the best seasonal vegetables to ferment. I’ll share my successes and favorite flavoring combinations with you on Thursdays until the produce becomes sad and sparse. If you don’t get the reference, please watch this hilarious video clip that approximately 3,000 of my closest friends and family members have sent me.
My spice drawer and herb garden overfloweth at the moment. More accurately, my spice drawer always overfloweth, and my herb garden currently overfloweth. Maybe it’s my Ukranian and Polish heritage, but I can tell you, there are few things I would rather grow or eat. For the eating, I’ll take a borscht, a roasted beet side or a Detroit Greek salad any day of the week. (Yup! In Detroit, the Greek salads have beets. I suspect this is because the “Greek” salads are really Lebanese salads, but I digress). I grow them because they’re super simple to grow, and even if you end up with a small or nibbled root, you still get the gorgeous greens to eat! I make beet pickles a lot, in fact even pre-fermentation, they were one of my favorite vegetables to pickle. They are also available locally for most of the year, so I can still do my small batch jawn and have year round beet pickles.
A word to the wise on beets and other sweet vegetable fermentation: their intrinsic, natural sugars can sometimes cause a yeastier (read: alcoholier) fermentation. It’s not overwhelming, but can be a bit of a change, and your brine might get a tad more viscous. If you don’t love that taste, mix your beets with less sugary vegetables such as radishes, and you’ll avoid it altogether!
As always, the keys here are avoiding air and providing an appropriate room temperature. My favorite way to keep my vegetables in anaerobic conditions is to keep them submerged under brine. That way, the brine provides a suitable air-barrier. Some people buy jars with airlocks, or special lids with corks and airlocks. I find that the cheapo jar method works perfectly well, and in fact, the only truly failed batch of pickles I ever had were ones I did with one of those special lids. I’m not saying they don’t work, I’m just saying they aren’t necessary, and in my experience do not provide a better end product. As for temperature, the 70 degrees F (around 21 degrees C) has been the best temperature in my experience. You can go up or down a bit on either side of that number, but too much cooler, and fermentation might not start. Too much hotter, and it happens too quickly!
In this case, I used golden beets, but only because I couldn’t find red beets at the farmers market, and I don’t have any ready to pluck from my garden at the moment. The red beets, give the brine a stunning ruby color that makes me happy to leave it out on the table during fermentation. The golden beets produce a golden brine, but it is tinged with a bit of red from the beet skins, so it’s not anywhere near as lovely. Your choice, though. Any beets will do!
GOLDEN BEETS WITH CUMIN AND BASIL
Yield one quart, easily scalable
If you’re new to lactopickling, please check out my Pickle FAQ before you get started!
Ingredients
- 4-5 medium beets, any variety, unpeeled, skanky parts removed with a paring knife
- 1.5 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 2 cups brine, made from 2 cups room temperature water and 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1/8 cup whole basil leaves, tightly packed
How-To
- Slice or chop your beets as you like. I sliced mine to about 1/5 of an inch. I did it by hand, so they are definitely not exact. You can use a mandolin for even slices.
- Put cumin seeds in the bottom of your jar and place beet slices on top of them. I like to lay most of my slices flat, so they are easier to pack in the jar. Beet slices should fill the jar to a 1/2 inch below the jar shoulders.
- Pour brine over beets, until they are covered by at least a thin layer. The beets will give up some of their water as they absorb the salt from the brine. Don’t overfill, or your jar will overflow when this happens. Not a tragedy, but it’ll make a mess.
- Submerge your veggies using the cheapo jar method or the method of your choice, and cover securely with a cloth and rubber band.
- After about 2 weeks, taste a beet slice. If it tastes acidic enough, pack your basil leaves into the top of of your jar, put the lid on, and stick them in the fridge.
- 2 days later remove the basil leaves.
These pickles make a fantastic addition to salads, sandwiches and are even great chopped as a garnish for chili! I like them topped with a dab of hummus, too!
Ann says
I’m laughing at the caption for your last picture. That’s good. (I also enjoyed your a-spare-agus pun. My 10 year old son and I have pun wars. You are giving me some good ammo for our next battle. 🙂 )
I just love beets and look forward to trying them in this recipe. Thank you!
Amanda says
Hi Ann,
That’s awesome! I love a good pun. Who am I kidding? I love a terrible pun. But thank you for putting up with them!
Casey @ Salted Plates says
I wonder how it would look with my chiogga beets that are candy striped
Amanda says
Hi Casey,
The red tends to wash out the white. I used to grow these, so they were a main source of pickling goodness for me, but they don’t really maintain their stripes, sadly. Sometimes you’ll get a batch where you can kind of see a pinkish stripe then a reddish stripe, but mostly they just look red. Still gorgeous and delicious, though!
Food to Fitness says
Looks great. Thanks for the recipe.
Amanda says
Thanks for reading! This is one of my favorite pickles, although it’s a bit prettier with red beets, I admit.
Laryssa says
Hi Amanda, Do you think I could use cooked red beets for this, or is it better for them to be raw? Thanks!
Amanda says
Hi Laryssa,
If the surface of the veggies get exposed to high heat, the bacteria should die (which is not a good thing). The lactic acid bacteria aren’t meant to survive boiling temperatures. Having said that, I have read that some people blanch them prior to fermentation. I always leave mine uncooked. If you trying blanching and they still ferment (or not) please let me know!
Nora says
These came out amazing. I’ve been pickling for a few years, but this was my first attempt at lactopickling. I used your jar method, which worked great. I ate that batch way too quickly, so now I must make more. BUT, I reused the brine to pickle some eggs and they were spectacular. Keep these recipes coming!
Amanda says
So glad to hear that, Nora!! Beets are one of my favorite things to pickle, and they definitely get eaten way too fast around here as well. I will definitely keep the recipes coming. Thanks for reading!
Julie Levitt says
I brought home purple and golden beets from the farmers markets yesterday. Now I am having to defend them from the borscht soup pot and get them pickled fast.
Amanda says
Hi Julie,
I don’t think you’ll regret your choice (although borscht is so very tasty). Along with my minty turnips (and snap peas, which are probably my favorite overall pickle), these are some of my favorites of this summer. I’ve made a few larger batches, and I’m getting ready to plant my fall beet crop, so I’m pretty psyched about having these this winter!
Thanks for reading, and let me know how they turn out!
Amanda
Julie Levitt says
Amanda,
One week and counting. I put the beet slices in a 1/2 gallon canning jar and topped it off with another tiny canning jar. Most of the cumin floated and ended up in the tiny jar so today I emptied the jars out, put everything back in and put it back in the cabinet.
The only thing I have done differently is to use the smallest opening screw on top that I use to start seeds for sprouts. Its working like a champ and I hope to have a tasting party in a couple of weeks.
Thanks,
Julie
Amanda says
Hi Julie,
Great! My cumin seeds sometimes get to the top as well. Sometimes they’re fine, sometimes they get a little kahm on them. If they get yeasty, I just skim them off once my pickles are done. That seems to work fine.
Let me know how yours turn out!!
Amanda
Kim says
I’m at the test your beets stage. When I removed the ghetto jar which I covered with a white kitchen cloth and tight rubber band there was a frothy sludgy bit around the inside rim of the large jars. Is this mold? The levels of liquid are two fingers lower than the rim and not touching the sludge so I wiped it off. Beets taste salty, not acidic, what should I do?
K
Amanda says
Hi Kim,
The sludge is likely kahm yeast, which is totally safe, but doesn’t taste good, so wiping if off is definitely the right approach. How long have they been fermenting? If it’s been 4 days or more at room temp, you should definitely have some acidity! If they aren’t acidic enough for your taste, cover them again and let them sit for longer. I usually ferment my pickles for 2 weeks, but they can go longer. I hope that helps! Let me know how it turns out!
Amanda
Jodie says
last week when I checked the beets they were fine. Today when I was ready to take them out of the crock there was a mold on the top of the weight and around the edges. There is no smell. I tasted a beet and they have a bit of a sour zing. It that ok?
Jodie says
Just realized my dad made me a new wood weight for the crock. The wood did not have time to dry out. That could be the problem. The beets are beautiful and aren’t as sour as I thought.
Amanda says
Hi Jodie,
Yes, wood can be an issue for a couple reasons. Depending on the type of wood, it can mold. It can also absorb brine and expand, which is bad for both your ferment and your crock, which could potentially be cracked by the expanding wood. Go with what works for you, though! Those are just things to keep in mind.
If the mold was on top of the weight and what’s underneath looks and tastes good, you should be great. How long did you let them ferment?
Thanks,
Amanda
Mark says
I just started mine and am curious how often I should check for evaporation. I would think if need to add some water after a while to keep the beets submerged, or do they pack down more when they soften?
Amanda says
Hi Mark,
You will definitely get a little more osmosis-y action (aka more liquid in your jar) in the early hours of brining. I only ferment most of my pickles for two weeks, so I have never had to add more brine. If you are fermenting for a month or longer, you can start with more brine, and check in after 3 weeks or so to see if any is needed.
I hope that helps!
Best,
Amanda
Lacey says
Can I use cumin powder instead of seed?
Amanda says
Hi Lacey,
With sliced or chopped (as opposed to shredded) pickles, I would not recommend it. An important part of the process is making sure that everything is submerged under a thin layer of liquid. Seeds can be submerged under the vegetables, but the powder will tend to rise to the surface. If you are shredding your vegetables you can work the powder in with the salt, and then this isn’t an issue at all.
I would also generally not recommend shredding the veg for this particular recipe. If your beets are very small pieces, the abundant sugars in beets are more readily available when the pieces are small, and you could initiate a yeast fermentation instead bacterial. Yeast fermentation would result in a slimier texture and a boozy/yeasty aroma. If you wanted to shred beets with other, less sweet vegetables in the mix, you’d be totally fine to do so! And this might NOT happen, so feel free to give it a try. I just want to make you aware of the possibilities.
If you do decide to shred, you can double the amount of veg you’ll need or halve the size of the container.
Best,
Amanda
Jody says
Amanda, thanks so much for this recipe! I just did the taste test and like them without even doing the basil. But I will! How long will they last in the fridge? Not that they will!
Amanda says
Hi Jody,
It depends on how long you fermented them, how cold your fridge is and how full the jar stays, but these will last quite a while. Definitely more than a month.
Glad you’re enjoying them!
Kirsten says
Amanda,
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve added it to the Farm Fresh Feasts Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like us eating from the farm share.
I appreciate it!
Amanda says
Great! Thanks so much.
jay moore says
Hi Amanda;
Thanks for sharing this recipe, I’m about ready to give it a shot! One question though: you mention “unpeeled” beets. Most of the beets I see are pretty thoroughly dirty…would it be okay if I peeled them after a good washing? Not sure I’d enjoy the taste of fermented dirt. Thanks, Jay
Amanda says
Hi Jay,
Washing = Good. Definitely wash them, but don’t peel them! The bacteria necessary for fermentation are primarily on the peel.
Lara McCormick says
First want to say I bought your book and love it! I also follow your Instagram feed. Keep the goodness coming! I made these beets and after a day or two I noticed what I thought was a fine white layer of Kahm yeast forming so I skimmed it off. A couple days after that I noticed a dark film over the top so I skimmed that off as well. The brine in the upper part of the jar turned dark and some dark stuff settled onto my weight. I was worried it might be mold. Doesn’t smell like mold, just like earthy beets. Could it just be dirt from the beets? (I confess I didn’t scrub them, they looked clean to me.) I went ahead and let my fermentation go for close to two weeks. They have bubbled nicely and smell like earthy, briny beets (no smell of mold). But there is definitely dark discoloration on the top few layers of beets in the jar and the brine looks a “dirty” color. Any ideas what happened?
JT says
Amanda,
Thankyou SO MUCH for introducing me to lacto- fermenting. Peppers were the best I ever had!!
Now I want to try beets. Can I just use regular pickling spices instead of the cumin?
JT
Amanda says
Absolutely! Pickle-spiced beets are delightful! Go nuts!
Georgia says
Hi, thanks so much for the recipe, this is the first time I have tried fermenting anything other than sauerkraut! I used red beets and it has been three weeks. I tried them and they taste quite nice and sour but also have a slight chemically/nail-polishy smell and taste. It’s not that bad but I just wanted to see if this is normal and if I should not be eating them?? The liquid is really dark from the beets but not cloudy at all. I skimmed off the very thin layer of cloudy film that had formed.
Thanks so much in advance for your help 🙂
Amanda says
Hi Georgia,
A chemical-y smell is not normal, but I can’t tell you what could have caused that. Was there anything metallic in your jar?
Jana says
My grandma used to make decisions pickled beets with cloves, which I loved! Any idea how many whole cloves would be right for this size batch?
Jana says
(Auto-correct put the word “decisions” in there. ????)
Amanda says
definitely go easy on the cloves! I love cloves, but they can overpower a ferment. I’d start with 2 or 3 and move up from there. Fermentation time can have an impact on the strength of flavor, too.