Pickled Beets

My husband can’t stand beets. Roasted, grilled, pickled, he hates them. “They taste like dirt,” he says every time I make them, or even mention them for that matter. Every.Single.Time. I, on the other hand, really like pickled beets, and my boys love, love, love them. As in, they’re better than candy for dinner, love them. Well, I haven’t ever served candy for dinner, so that’s not really true, but they do like them an awful lot. So much so that I go through spurts of serving them with dinner every night. One time I sent them into school with Gabriel, but the teachers aren’t super diligent about making sure beet juice doesn’t get on his clothes, (can you say “purple mess” three times fast?), so we only did that once.

The first time I got fresh beets, I thought they looked a little scary. They came in my CSA farm box, were covered in dirt and seemed … hairy. How do you handle that? Does the juice stain my kitchen? Are they hard to cook? The answers were … pretty easily, not really, and no! Beet juice does stain clothing though, just to warn you.

The key to cooking beets is to simply ignore the scary look. Scrub them well to get off any dirt, cut off the greens ABOVE the bulb so you don’t have to deal with the purple juice, and cook them with the skins on.

I think beets are so pretty inside. There are many different kinds of beets and they all look different. Some have white and red stripes inside instead of the red on red stripes in this photo. There also are golden beets; they taste the same as the red ones.

How to cook beets

You can roast beets in the oven (400 degrees for about 45 min), boil them on the stove for about 45 min, or microwave them in about 12 minutes. I choose to microwave them. It uses less electricity, is faster, and the juice doesn’t splatter all over the stove.

If possible, choose medium-sized beets that are about the same size. That way they’ll cook in about the same amount of time. You can cut them in half to cook, but put the cut side down on the dish so it doesn’t dry out.

I cook them with the peel on to avoid a mess. Once they’re done the peel comes off really easily with a knife, or even your fingers. It does make a bit of a mess, but that’s part of the fun of it. Just don’t rub your fingers on your shirt.

Once they’re peeled, cut them up, cover with the marinade and chill in the refrigerator several hours or overnight.

You can serve these pickled beets on a salad, or as a simple side dish. Your kids won’t notice they’re eating a vegetable, and hopefully your husband (or wife) won’t say they taste like dirt. Like I said, we serve these as a side dish with dinner a lot. They’re high in fiber, and a good source of potassium, vitamins C and B-6, iron, and magnesium. Usually I don’t even have to remind the boys to eat them, they’re already gone before I’ve sat down at the table.

Tips & Tricks for Pickled Beets

• The process is messy. Don’t try to keep your hands clean. Just embrace it and scrub your fingers like crazy when you’re done.
• Cover the beets with a shallow plate rather than plastic wrap. I know it’s supposed to be safe to microwave plastic, but I think 12 minutes is a long time for something to not release toxins while cooking.
• Make these in advance when you have some time to let the beets cool. They’re better when they’ve had time to soak up the tangy, sweet marinade. And the beets are easier to handle when they aren’t screaming hot.
• Start with less sugar and increase if you prefer. You can’t take the sugar out if it’s too sweet. You could add more vinegar, but you might end up with more pickling juice than you want.