I bought a big sack of field beets for pocket change from a roadside farmer on the way home today – they’re always part of our local autumn abundance. Beets however have a reputation for a somewhat ‘dirty’ flavour because of their naturally occurring geosmin that humans can easily smell and taste. The back of my car certainly smells like a field of them at the moment.
Proper preparation can reduce those levels to something delicious. Follow this ‘double boil’ method before proceeding with any number of other recipes. Shredded beet and feta salad, classic borscht, cumin and olive oil roasted (or air-fried), and of course… pickled. Prep is everything with beets.
Trim, peel, and wash whole beets well and place into boiling water with white vinegar added for ten minutes. Somewhere around 60ml vinegar per liter of water will help neutralize the geosmin (1/4 cup per quart). Remove and run under cold water. Discard the boiling water and wash the pot completely of any residue.
Refill with fresh water, add salt and half the measure used earlier of white vinegar. Bring to a boil. Cut the peeled beets into your desired shape/size and boil to desired tenderness depending on where you plan to use them. Remove from water and again, discard the boiling water completely. Rinse the beets well. Proceed with other recipes from there.
Simplest Pickled Beets
yield: ~2 liters of finished beets
200ml boiling water
100g white sugar or honey
15g sea salt
400ml white vinegar, 5% acidity
crushed mustard seeds, garlic cloves, chile flakes, or dill weed (all optional)
600g beets (prepared as above, cut in any shape desired)
Stir hot water, sugar, and salt together until fully dissolved. Stir in vinegar and any other optional flavours. Add par-boiled but still firm beets to one-liter glass jars with plastic lids and top up with brine mixture. Refrigerate for at least twelve hours and up to a month. Flavour will intensify over time but they are delicious almost immediately.
– msh v.2.6
Air Fryer Beets
Prepare beets as above cut into 1/2 dice. Toss with sea salt, freshly ground black peppercorn, freshly toasted and ground cumin seed, and olive oil. Air fry at 375F for 10-15 minutes depending on texture desired. Serve hot with additional olive oil drizzled over.
– msh v.2.2
