With the threat of hard frost looming I decided to harvest my beets. They did quite well this year and I had so many I decided to make up several pickled beet recipes and see if I liked them better than the way I have been doing them all these years, a recipe I learned when I lived in Denmark.
The first recipe I tried came from “Cook’s Illustrated” magazine (March/April 1994, p.11). I was intrigued by the fact it had vermouth, red wine, rosemary and orange slices along with the typical ingredients. The next was from a cookbook that has given me some great recipes in the past; Smith & Hawkins “Gardener’s Community Cookbook” compiled by Victoria Wise, Workman Publishing, New York, 1999). This one had horseradish and lots of spices and since I like the tang of horseradish, I put it on the list. I also tried one from the “Bon Appetit” website which included coriander berries, “interesting”, I thought. Finally I included my Danish recipe of old, which includes onions.
We gave it three tries on successive days and my original old recipe won each time with the Bob Appetit recipe a close second and the Cook’s Illustrated and near tie for second. The Gardener’s was too tart although I’m sure adding sugar to balance the vinegar would improve it.
…and the winner is…
Here’s that recipe (happily the simplest):
DANISH STYLE PICKLED BEETS (serves four)
- 1 pound prepared beets (about 3 large)
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 1/4 C sugar
- 1/2 C cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
Prepare beets by washing them and boiling them in their skins. When they can be pierced easily with a sharp knife, remove them from the water, saving 1/2 C water from the cooking liquid for the pickling sauce. Let the beets cool enough so you can handle them to peel them. You should be able to just push off the skin with your thumbs. Combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan (including the beet juice) and bring to a boil. Slice the beets and add them to the saucepan. Cool and refrigerate for a day or two before serving. Can be served hot or cold.
A Naturalist's Table 