Here is my recipe for preserving beetroot!  The process to preserve beetroot is much the same as pickling gherkins with the exception of a different recipe and a few extra steps. I created this recipe in the same way as the gerkins.  It was just adjusted slightly during the process.

You can use this recipe exactly as it is or adjust it to suit you!

INGREDIENTS:

• Beetroot
• Malt Vinegar
• Bay Leaves
• Mustard Seed
• Basil
• Brown Sugar
• Pickle jars

METHOD:

1. Harvest your beetroot from the garden as they are ready!
2. Remove the tops and bottoms (cut off the greens and the roots).
3. Put them in a pot to boil for approx. 30 mins to soften the skins.
4. Once they are done, rinse them under a cold tap and rub gently to remove the skins (don’t forget to keep the water they were boiled in for later).
5. Slice them up and set aside to cool.
6. Set up 2 small pots (one will be your left over water from boiling the beets) and one large pot on the stove.
7. In the other small pot, mix the vinegar, brown sugar, basil, mustard seeds, bay leaves and boil. Then add some of the water the beets were boiled in (now you can discard the rest).
8. Put your jars in the large pot and set them to boil. Refill the small pot with water and set the lids of the jars to boil also.
9. Once the jars have boiled, take them out and fill them with your beetroot slices.
10. Fill up the jars with the vinegar mixture and screw the lids on nice and tight.
11. Put them back into the large pot of water and boil for 15 mins.
12. Take them out and wait for the lids to pop

This has managed to work for me everytime and listening to those lids pop is so satisfactory!  I don’t have any left however as they were way too good to keep in the cupboard!

If you have any problems following this recipe/method and need a little help, check out the video I created for my Youtube channel which will explain everyting. If you try this recipe out please leave me a comment below on how it went and what you thought of it!