Blog Post: “Just Beet It: Carrot-ing On with My Pickling Adventures!”

Date: Week 5

This week, I ventured into the colorful world of pickling beets and carrots. Pickles? Simple enough. But pickled beets? Now that’s a different story—one that left my pots, countertops, clothes and HANDS looking like they’d been splattered with beet-red paint. Turns out, pickling beets and carrots is a whole new level of colorful fun!

But, before I dive into the details of my latest adventure, here’s a funny little picture of a pickle I seen and thought it was too adorable not to share. What a great way to kick things off because, really, pickles are the stars of every show.

The Learning Curve: Vegetable Pickling Edition

I’ll be honest—further learning didn’t exactly happen here. I’d already picked up the basics for pickling vegetables, so this time, I was all about applying them. When it comes to pickling veggies, the main takeaway I’d already absorbed was this: salt is everything. Without enough salt and cook time with your brine, including proper processing of the jars, your hard work will invite the wrong kind of guests (a.k.a. bacteria) to the party, and trust me, you don’t want that.

What’s cool about pickling veggies is the freedom to get creative with herbs and spices. I found with veggies, there’s room a bit more room to play around with fun flavors than making fruit preserves. For example:

Beets naturally love warm, earthy flavours, so I went with cinnamon and cloves for a cozy, almost festive vibe. As I did last week with the pickles, I created a little bag of all my pickling spices and included cinnamon sticks and whole cloves to join in the marinating party.

Carrots? They’re versatile and love dill weed and cardamom.

The trick though, is to use whole spices and herbs—they release flavor slowly and make everything taste way better without going overboard.

The only critique I have with the process I used for this project, was the fact I needed to make two different types of brine. One for the beets and one for the carrots. As the brine cooked, the overpowering scent and fumes of the vinegar in the tiny kitchen, was a little too much for my eyes and nose.

Beets: The Earthy Stars

Step one in beet pickling: wear gloves and cover your counter tops or be prepared to have hands and a kitchen that looks like a crime took place. To prepare the beets, I had to boil them in water for about 40 minutes. Once they cooled, I peeled the skins off, chopped into large bite sized pieces and set to the side. Once my hands were beet-free, I popped cinnamon sticks and whole cloves into each jar. I made sure to keep things cozy and fragrant, but not overwhelming—nobody wants beets that taste like a holiday candle. I then placed the purple jewels into the jars, filling them with enough brine to leave enough head space to prevent the tops from exploding during the processing

Carrots: Dill Meets Cardamom

Next up were the carrots. The goal here was crisp, tangy perfection. I trimmed and peeled them, cutting them down to jar-friendly sticks. For flavor, I went with dill and cardamom, which gives the carrots this bright, herby flavor that plays well with their natural sweetness. It was a fun twist that left me wanting to experiment even more with spices next time. Once packed into jars with a sprinkle of spices and garlic, they were ready to go for their hot brine bath, creating a bouquet of savory goodness in my kitchen.

The Canning Process: A Surprisingly Smooth Ride

Unlike last time, when I accidentally created a mini geyser (click here to read about it), this time, nothing significant happened. Shocking, right? I picked up some jars on sale at Canadian Tire (woohoo for markdowns!) and managed to can my beets and carrots without a hitch. Everything went into the canner, boiled, and sealed up perfectly. I guess pickling veggies might be my thing after all.

Conclusion: Pickling Like a Pro (Well, Almost)

This week’s pickling adventure felt like a big step forward—no more surprises, just delicious beets and carrots with that perfect blend of salty, tangy earthy goodness. I’ve come to realize that preserving isn’t just about stuffing veggies into jars; it’s about making your kitchen smell incredible and creating something you can savor for months.

Next week, I’ll be hitting pause on the actual canning and diving into the why behind preserving food. If you’re curious about the benefits of canning or want to understand the long-term perks of making your own pickles, join me on this journey!

And I’d love to hear from you, too—what have you tried pickling? Or what do you want to try pickling? Let me know in the comments, and let’s make this a pickle party!