Fermented Beets and Turnips Recipe

You may have tried making sauerkraut in the past, but have you added other vegetable ferments to your repertoire? This tutorial on how to make fermented beets and turnips may help you to get some additional probiotics into your diet. Use this tangy condiment as a salad topping, on a grain, or to top a burger! The only ingredients you need are the veggies and some salt.

After my little adventure in making fermented sauerkraut, I knew that I wanted to try fermenting some other vegetables. Just like with fermenting red cabbage, I recommend investing in a fermenting kit with jar weights and airlock lids. I’ve linked to the kit I use, but other brands should also help you have great results.

The jar weights and lids are for use with quart-sized wide-mouth canning jars. The jars can be picked up very inexpensively in stores like Walmart and Target. They are great for storing dried legumes, dried grains, and homemade yogurt (yogurt goes in the fridge, of course).

It’s not too difficult to find fresh sauerkraut in the stores, but other vegetable ferments are less likely to be available. You can greatly broaden the diversity of fermented veggies in your diet when you DIY. This mix of fermented beets and turnips is a combination I’ve not seen locally.

If you need a meal idea for this one, I last served it up with some roasted Brussels sprouts, baked sweet potato fries, and a (lean!) grass-finished cheeseburger. Those sprouts look super shiny in the lighting, but I only added a little olive oil.

(Did you know that some food photographers spray the food with oil to make it look better in photos? I’ve never tried it since I am planning on eating the things I photograph!)

The difference between fermenting beets and fermenting cabbage

I’ve learned through reading up on the topic that fermenting beets can be far more challenging than fermenting cabbage. The beets can turn into alcohol quite easily. If you are new to vegetable ferments, sauerkraut is a better first project for beginners.

There are a few strategies that can help increase your chances of success when fermenting beets. I’ve utilized most of them in this recipe. They are:

• Properly sanitize equipment before starting (critical with any ferment)
• Use more salt than you would use for sauerkraut to help discourage unwanted bacterial growth
• Use a mixture of beets and turnips (or another veggie) instead of just beets
• Cut the beets into larger pieces than you would for fermented cabbage (this one I chose not to do)

Similar to cabbage ferments, you should use canning salt, pickling salt, or fine-grain sea salt here. Iodized salt is not a good choice for this recipe.

Since we are using a lot of salt, this one is not appropriate for those on low-sodium diets. You will consume less salt than is used in the recipe if you drain the brine from the veggies prior to eating. Rinsing the ferment decreases the sodium level even more, though some probiotics may also be lost in this process.

I am one of those weird people who could happily eat sauerkraut straight from the jar. However, this ferment definitely needs to be treated more like a condiment because it is very salty.

One more tip about this ferment is that it mellows out and becomes better with age after a few days in the fridge. The turnip flavor becomes less sharp, and the flavor is just more enjoyable overall. (At least that is the opinion of my family.)

And now for the disclaimer…

All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.

The calorie information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don’t sweat the numbers too much.

For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to this post. Let’s get cooking!

If you’ve ever wondered how to make fermented beets (or other veggies), I hope that today’s post helped you out! If you’re already a slow food DIY-er, what are some other veggies you’ve tried fermenting? I welcome new ideas on what to try next!