Description
Crunchy, sour Lebanese pickled turnips colored bright pink with raw beet. Tested side by side, 30 g of beet per 250 g of turnips gave a deep pink by day 7 without an earthy taste. These are refrigerator pickles, not a canned or shelf-stable recipe.
Ingredients
For the jar:
- 250 g white turnips, peeled, tops and root ends removed
- 30 g raw beet, peeled and thinly sliced (weighed after peeling)
- 1 small garlic clove, peeled
- 1 small bay leaf
For the brine (enough for 2 jars):
- 500 ml water
- 167 ml white distilled vinegar, 5% acidity
- 20 g fine non-iodized salt, with no anti-caking agents
Instructions
- Stir the water, vinegar and salt together until the salt fully dissolves. Let the brine cool completely.
- Cut the turnips into even batons, about 0.8 to 1 cm thick and 4 to 5 cm long.
- Put the garlic and bay leaf in a clean 750 ml glass jar. Pack in the turnip batons, tucking the beet slices between them. Pack firmly without crushing.
- Pour in the cold brine until every piece is submerged, leaving about 1.5 cm of headspace. One jar takes about 295 ml.
- Seal with a clean lid and refrigerate straight away, at about 4°C.
- The pickles are ready to eat on day 5 and at their best color and flavor on day 7.
Notes
- Ready on day 5, best on day 7. The color keeps deepening through the first week.
- For a gentler pink, use 5 g of beet instead of 30 g.
- Refrigerator only. These are not suitable for canning or room-temperature storage. I tracked them for 14 days in the fridge, so treat 2 weeks as the limit.
- Use 5% vinegar and don’t change the ratios.
- Always use a clean utensil and keep the turnips under the brine.
- If you see mold, slime, bubbles or an odd smell, discard the jar without tasting.
- For two jars, double the turnips, beet, garlic and bay leaf. The brine batch covers both.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Condiment
- Method: Pickling
- Cuisine: Lebanese