Pickled Beets
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the beets
Wash the beets carefully, avoiding breaking the roots.
Boil the beets in plenty of water for about 3 hours.
Remove the beets without piercing them with a fork.
Pickle and store
Once cooled, cut the beets into pieces.
Pour good vinegar over the cut beets.
Exclude air to ensure they keep well for several months.
Occasionally boil the vinegar and pour it hot over the beets for better flavor.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Beets
- Provide the main body, sweetness and earthy flavor of the pickle.
- Vinegar
- Acidity that preserves the beets and gives the pickle its sharp, tangy taste.
The step that matters
Removing the beets without piercing them. Piercing the skin lets color and juices bleed out during cooking, and the beets lose flavor and moisture. Keeping the roots and skin intact while boiling and handling protects the beets from bleeding.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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