Pickled Turnips

Pickling is a smart method every home cook should know. It’s a simple way to preserve vegetables while enhancing their flavor, and it opens the door to less waste and more creativity in the kitchen.

There are a few different types of pickling (explained below), and if you’ve never pickled at home before, this recipe from our chef-in-residence Molly is a great place to start.

Molly is a big fan of pickling, and she especially loves pickled turnips. You’ll often find them in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean mezze spreads; they’re crisp, slightly punchy, and strikingly pink thanks to a red beet in the brine.

The Basics of Pickling

Pickling is a method of preserving vegetables (and sometimes fruits) by soaking them in an acidic brine or allowing beneficial bacteria to ferment them. There are two main types of pickling:

• Vinegar-based pickling: Also called “fresh-pack” or “quick pickling,” this method uses vinegar to preserve the veggies. It’s faster and perfect when you want pickles ready in days.

• Fermentation pickling: This method relies on naturally occurring bacteria converting sugars into lactic acid, preserving vegetables without added vinegar. These fermented pickles contain probiotics, great for gut health, but take longer to develop flavor.

Part of the fun of pickling is that you can adjust the flavor to pair with whatever you’re eating. So play around! Use different vinegars, herbs, or aromatics to the brine or test out different types of vinegar.

Pickled Turnips Recipe

For this recipe, we use the vinegar-based method, which is easy and reliable.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups water

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• ½ cup white vinegar

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

• 1 lb turnips, quartered (cut uniformly for even pickling)

• 1 small red beet

Instructions:

1. In a small saucepan, bring water, salt, vinegar, and garlic to a boil.

2. Remove from heat and let the brine cool to room temperature.

3. Place turnips and beet in a clean jar or container.

4. Pour the cooled brine over the turnips and beet, making sure they’re fully submerged.

5. Refrigerate for a few days to up to a week to let the flavors develop.

6. The smaller you cut the turnips, the faster they’ll pickle. Try slicing into rounds if you want to enjoy them sooner.

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