Pickled Beets

Here is the promised post on pickled beets! 

 

I like beets, but they are one vegetable that I find to be just a pain in the neck to prepare.  You need to either roast in the oven for an hour, or steam for a long time, or cut up and sous vide, or put in the pressure cooker.  And generally I don't want a whole bunch of beets at once, because most often they are going into a salad. 

So I was happy to find a recipe that you can do a whole bunch of beets at once, and then they keep for a long time (guessing 3-4 weeks), and use as desired.  The recipe is very similar to the Pickled Green Bean recipe, although it does have some orange juice added to the brine which sweetens it just a bit.  

Pickled Beets with Orange

2 pint jars (or 1 quart jar)

1 pound loose beets (about 4 medium)

1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds, divided

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, divided

2 large pieces of orange zest

2 (1/8-inch-thick) orange slices, divided

1 cup white wine vinegar

1 cup water

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 1 to 2 oranges)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400°F. Scrub the beets, but do not dry. Wrap individually in aluminum foil (or wrap a few small ones together in one sheet) and place the packets on a rimmed baking sheet.  Roast the beets for 50 to 60 minutes. Check the beets after 30 minutes, adding a tablespoon of water to the foil packets if they look dry or begin to burn. Remove from the oven once a fork or skewer slides easily into the center of the beets. Small beets may cook more quickly than large beets.  Alternatively, you can cook the beets any way you like – steaming in a pressure cooker takes about 20 minutes of cook time. Once the beets are done roasting, set aside until cool enough to handle.

Place 1/2 teaspoon each mustard seeds and coriander seeds and a piece of orange zest into each jar (if using pints, if using quart jars put everything in the 1 jar). Place an orange slice in each jar and press to stick to the side.  Working with one at a time, rub the beets with a paper towel to remove the skin and skinny root, if still attached. Cut the beets in half, then cut into 1-inch wedges. Pack the beets into the jars, leaving 1/2-inch of space at the top. 

Place the vinegar, water, orange juice, and salt in a large measuring cup.  Heat to boiling in the microwave.  Stir to dissolve the salt. Pour the pickling liquid over the beets, leaving 1/2-inch space at the top of the jar; it's OK if you don't use all of the liquid.  Gently tap the jars against the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Top off with additional pickling liquid if needed. Cover with the lids.  Let cool on the counter, then refrigerate at least 24 hours and preferably 48 hours before serving.    Beets will be good to 3-4 weeks.

Pickled Green Beans .. Pickled Kohlrabi ... Pickle Anything!

As we shelter at home, I have been doing my best to make sure we are eating healthy.  We do get take-out once a week or so for a break from cooking, and we do seem to have baked goods around but I try to offset that with lots of vegetables ... fortunately it's spring and the farmers market has some great product. At the Coronado Farmers Market where I go, most of the the farmers are there, but the organic farm that I buy my greens, root vegetables like radishes and carrots, and random other vegetables has just been offering boxes. From what I have been reading, many small farmers who typically supplied to restaurants are now offering CSA-type boxes.  The boxes I have been getting are wonderful ... 

A long, long time ago I wrote a post on what to do with all the greens from a CSA box, and I have been hitting those recipes and more, like spinach crusted quiche, beans and greens, curried lentils and salads.   I made some calzones with a mixture of greens that came out really nice and will post that at some point. Plus I share some of my greens with a neighbor when there is just too much (she was able the buy a 25 pound bag of flour, which she has shared both as flour and as baked into above mentioned treats).  My box has included lots of beets, last week I got some kohlrabi so I have been doing some quick pickles.  Quick pickles extend the life of vegetables, and are a quick side dish or appetizer.  Pickled kohlrabi goes great with sandwiches (a nice crunchy-salty bite that is not a chip) and pickled green beans are great for picnics and cookouts which hopefully we can get back to this summer!


After lots of experiments, my go-to quick pickle base is 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 cup of water, and 1 tablespoon of salt plus spices. (note - if you are using fine grain sea salt, only use 2 teaspoons as if is more dense). There are lots of variations:  many pickle recipes call for sugar in addition to salt, all types of vinegar (personally I'm too cheap to use expensive wine vinegars, and white vinegar is sometimes a bit sharp), various ratios of vinegar, water, salt, and sugar.  What this means is that most anything works!  I generally add some red pepper flakes to give the pickles a little kick, but do whatever sounds good to you!

Pro tip... if using pint jars, trim the green beans to fit.  Use quart jars if you have long green beans. 

Pickled Green Beans

Makes: 1 quart-sized jar or 2 pint-sized jars

1 pound green string beans

2 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon kosher salt or 2 teaspoons sea salt

Wash the green beans, and to fit into the jar.  Pack the beans into the jar(s).   Put the garlic, red pepper, mustard seeds and black peppercorns into the jar (if using 2 pint jars, put half into each jar). 

Put the vinegar, water, and salt into a large glass measuring cup, then heat in the microwave until boiling (about 3 ½ minutes or so).  

Pour the hot liquid into the filled jars.   Tap the jars to release bubbles, add more liquid if needed.  You want all of the beans covered.   Let cool on the counter, then refrigerate. 

They need a couple of days to “pickle” but are good for 2 – 3 weeks after that. 

Pickled Kohlrabi

Same as pickled Green Beans, except use 1 large kohlrabi peeled and cut into sticks (like big French fries) instead of green beans.  Omit the garlic and add ½ teaspoon coriander seeds.  

Kohlrabi 

Pickled Beet Recipe coming soon!

Is It Done Yet?

I started writing this a while back... never imagining that we would all be doing a lot more cooking at home.  So it seems a good time to put out this post on a way to help make results of home cooking more predictable and safe!   Also ... if anyone has questions on cooking, don't hesitate to shoot me a question (call, text message, or FB messenger).   Based on what I see sold out at the grocery stores, I imagine that a lot of people have some strange combinations of food in their kitchens. I'm here if you have questions on cooking beans or anything else!  And now that I seem to have some time on my hands, I will try to get some more recipes posted (including above meatloaf).

The people that read my blog (I think its my mom and 2 friends) know that my background is engineering, and that I can geek out on the science of cooking.   The chemical changes that food undergoes as you heat it (otherwise known as cooking) fascinates me.   And there just so happens to be a useful metric to know when things are cooked... it's temperature!  The best way to tell if things are done on the inside (especially big dense things, like meatloaf, roasts or turkeys) is to take the temperature with a thermometer. I think the best thermometer available is the Thermopen (and no, they are not sponsoring me). The Thermopen's read much faster than others on the market, so you can move through something like a steak and find the coolest spot in the center.  Go directly to the Thermoworks website to get one,  not Amazon.

Temperature is widely used to determine doneness of meat ... rare, medium rare, well all correspond to a temperature range.  While you can determine doneness on thinner cuts of meat by pressing to see how firm it is, this is more challenging to do on thicker cuts of steak or roasts... Plus it takes a lot of practice and experience to be good at it.  You can also use temperature to know if a casserole is cooked (and hot enough to safe), to tell if bread is done, as well as jams or candy.   Temperature is also handy for fish like salmon or tuna that you don't want fully cooked to the "flakes easily" (and dried out) stage.   Here is a handy dandy table with all the temperatures I use ... it's in the latest update of my cookbook.    Here you go...

IS IT DONE?

These are the final temperatures that you want; remove from heat 5°F lower than desired temperature as the temperature will come up as it rests. And if there is a tiny cold spot, it will warm up even more as the heat will continue to distribute. 

Beef / Lamb: Rare                 120 – 130 °F (49-54°C)
Roasts, steaks, Medium Rare   130 – 135 °F (54-57°C)
Chops Medium            135-145°F   (57-63°C)
                                Medium Well    145-155 oF (63-68°C)

Pork: Medium                        140 °F 
Roast, chops Medium Well (USDA)   145 °F   (63°C)
Pre-cooked ham Hot                               140 °F (60°C)
Raw ham                 Done                            160 °F (71°C)

BBQ:
Brisket, Ribs, Pork Butt Done                185 °F (85°C)

Ground meat:
Hamburger, sausage Done (USDA) 160 °F (71°C)
Meatloaf

Chicken/Turkey: UDSA                165 °F (74°C)
White meat Done                 155 °F
Dark meat Done                 165 °F (74°C)
Stuffing in bird Done                 165 °F (74°C)

Duck: 
Dark meat Done 160°F +
Breast meat Medium - Rare    135°F
                                            Well                    150°F

Fish:                                       Fully cooked 140 °F
Halibut Medium 130 °F
Salmon                                 Medium Rare    125 °F
Tuna (rare) Rare 115°F (or less)

Casseroles: 165 °F (74°C) - 175°F

Egg Dishes:
Quiche 160°F (71°C) or higher depending on fillings
Hollandaise Sauce 145-150°F
Custards                              175-180°F

Yogurt:   Heat milk to 180°F for 2 minutes, cool to 110°F to add yogurt starter.
 
Bread and baked goods: Should also be appropriately brown on the outside
Rich Dough                         190-200°F (88-93°C)
Lean Dough  200-210°F (93-99°C)
Water temp to add yeast       105-115°F (41-46°C)
Cake                                   205-210°F
Molten Chocolate Cake         160°F
Fruit Pies                             175°F

Candy:
Jam                     217-222°F (103-106°C)  Subtract 2°F for every 1000 feet of elevation
Thread 230-234°F (110-112°C) Syrup
Soft Ball               234-240°F (112-116°C) Fondant, Fudge & Pralines
Firm Ball              244-248°F (118-120°C) Caramels
Hard Ball 250-266°F (121-130°C) Divinity & Nougat
Soft Crack 270-290°F (132-143°C) Taffy
Hard Crack 300-310°F (149-154°C) Brittles, Lollipops & Hardtack
Caramel              320-350°F (160-177°C) Flan & Caramel Cages