Fermenting golden beets with turmeric creates a bright, tangy pickled yellow beet that is perfect for tucking into wraps, salads and grain bowls, using as secret ingredient for a killer potato salad – or eating straight from the jar.
Beets have a ton of natural sweetness which is balanced by turmeric’s bitterness allowing the subtle ginger and citrus notes of the spice to come through. The finished beets are a virbrant turmeric yellow, sweet, tangy and super flavorful.
Give this fermented turmeric beets recipe a try (our Fermented Vegetable Kit makes it super easy), and soon you'll be adding bright pickled beets to everything.
How to make fermented turmeric beets
For this simple fermented beet recipe, you will only need a handful of ingredients: golden beets, turmeric, peppercorns, kosher salt and water.
Now it's time to prep your beets for fermentation. After giving them a good wash, you'll want to cut off the tops and tails, peel, and cut into 1” wedges (for a small beet this might be quartering, for a larger beet you’ll need more cuts).
Before filling your fermentation jar, make the brine. Add 2.5 tablespoons of Kosher salt and 1 tablespoon turmeric to 1 quart of water (that's 4 cups) and whisk to dissolve the salt completely.
Add your beets and peppercorn to your half-gallon fermentation jar. Top with your glass fermentation weight and pour your brine over everything. You want all the vegetables to be fully submerged in the brine. Then secure your lid and airlock. Store at room temperature and out of direct sunlight to ferment.
The lacto-fermentation process takes 5-7 days, depending on your personal preference. Taste your beets on day 5 and measure the amount of tang and depth of flavor according to your own taste buds. Once your beets are perfectly tangy, store them in the fridge. They will keep for 3-4 months, if you can resist eating them all at once.
No golden beets?
No worries! You can sub in red beets here (just opt for the smallest you can find, they will be sweeter and less earthy). And know that the finished fermented beets are going to be red instead of yellow.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds golden beets, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 2.5 tablespoons Kosher salt
- 1 quart water
Directions
Place the beets and peppercorns into your fermentation jar.
Dissolve turmeric and kosher salt in 1 quart of water to make a brine.
Add fermentation weight and pour in brine. Beets should be fully submerged when weighted. Questions about fermentation weights? Check out our Fermentation Weight Guide.
Top with lid and airlock (Need help? Check out our How to Assemble Airlock Video). Let ferment at room temperature out of direct sun light for 5-7 days.
Transfer finished beets (still submerged in brine) to jars and move to the refrigerator. Fermented beets keep for 3-4 months in the fridge.
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