Pickled Beetroot

Pickled Beetroot.

If like us you found it hard to get canned pickled beetroot after leaving Australia here is a recipe that may interest you.  We have found fresh beetroot in market stalls and all the major supermarkets in Malaysia and Thailand. It may have been there in Indonesia but we were not looking at the time. 

1              large beetroot

1              cup water

1/2           cup white vinegar (5% acid) (see the note further down) (Start with a 1/4 cup)

1/4           cup sugar

1/2           tsp peppercorns

1              bay leaf

1/2           tsp prepared mustard or ½ tsp mustard seeds (mix in water first to dissolve)

3/4           tsp salt
1/2           Stick of cinnamon or leave it out, we think it adds a nice flavor

Ready for peeling, doesn't look very pretty just yet

Peel the beetroot with a vegi peeler then wash thoroughly.

Peeled and washed ready to slice

Cut the beetroot into slices

Sliced into rounds, you could make julienne strips if you want

Place the beetroot into a saucepan and add the other ingredients and bring to the boil.

In the pot ready to go, make sure the slices are covered

 

Simmer for 25 minutes or until a beetroot slice can easily be pierced with a fork.

Pack beetroot into hot sterilized jars and top up with vinegar mixture.

Seal and store in a cool place.

We used to make up a large batch and store away for the future, but now we just do one beetroot and put it straight into the fridge after it has cooled in the saucepan.

This recipe keeps well in fridge for many months.

Notes: Be careful of the acid content of the vinegar purchased in asia, we got 25% acid and burnt the lining of the mouth doing a taste test. We have also found some brands of vinegar certainly taste stronger than others, so the only way around this is to taste test early and adjust the water vinegar ratio.

The finished article

 If like us you will just put the beetroot into the fridge in a container you can experiment with the sugar content but if you are bottling the beetroot I wouldn’t as sugar is a natural preservative.