Pickled beets WITHOUT SUGAR page

[Winterbike]

I'm trying to find a simple pickled beets recipe because they're going to get really really cheap in the next weeks and I want to preserve them for the whole year.

Every recipe seems to require a sh*itload of added sugar. Is it really important? Does sugar have a role in preventing the spoiling of the beets? Because I would just put vinegar and water and not ruin the taste with awful sugar.

Thank you in advance for your wisdom!

[peril]

You should look at salt pickling them. This produces lacto-fermentation. No sugar or vinegar needed, though the fermentation does produce a little vinegar. Will keep in the fridge for months once fermentation is complete. Plenty of resources on the web or check Katz' Wild Fermentation.

Also save the greens and stems. I throw them in with the cabbage when I make sauerkraut. Pretty pink kraut

[yodiewan]

I would think you could also pressure can them. Not really pickled, but shelf stable and preserved. But that would require a pressure canner of course.

[anjelevil]

The other thing you could do is bake the beetroot wrapped in foil and freeze them afterwards..this would save all of the fuss of bottling beetroot

[Leida]

Or, you can put them in a box with sand in a cold room or garage. Grandma kept them like that all winter. And she never pickled them... and she pickled everything else. It's kindda funny now that I think about it, but I guess, the idea was 'if you can preserve them otherwise, why waste spice, jars and time?'

[Doddibot]

Does sugar have a role in preventing the spoiling of the beets?

Yes, it produces an environment osmotically unfavourable to bacteria. But salt pickling will do the job too. Though in my opinion beets benefit from a little sugar in the brine.