Fermented Root Vegetables (Turnips, Radishes, Daikon, and Beets)

Root vegetables are one of my favorite winter ferments. Their crunch is always so nice, even after days and sometimes even weeks of fermentation. This combination of beets, turnips, daikon, and black radish is what was available when I went to the produce market by my house, and it worked wonderfully in this simple ferment.

I started out with several turnips, a few red beets, some black radishes, and one giant daikon. While it seems like it would be easy to discern which is which in the finished ferment, I like to cut the vegetables slightly different so that I can tell more clearly down the line, as it gets a little confusing once everything is fully fermented and bright red on account of the beets’ presence.

Speaking of beets, let’s go over their benefits real quick. You will undoubtably notice that the beets turn everything bright red. This is because of betalain, a powerful antioxidant that supports the natural detox process in the body, fights inflammation, reduces the risk of cancer, and stimulates liver function. It also dyes everything from your hands to your counters bright red, so be sure to rinse everything off after cutting them up unless you like red stains on everything, then do as you like, but just be sure not to skip the beets.

I think this combination tastes best after several weeks, but also, it tastes pretty good throughout the whole fermentation process, and I sampled it in generous amounts in the first few days before everything became too salty. Then after a couple weeks, the vegetables begin to mellow and take on a new soured flavor.

I like to ferment vegetables about a gallon at a time and stuff them in this gallon crock I have. I leave them on the counter so that I am sure to see them and check in on them everyday during this stage. I put a small plate on top, inside the crock, to hold the vegetables under the brine, and cover the whole thing with a large clean kitchen towel to keep out fruit flies and other pests. The recipe below fits into a quart jar so it’s easy to make with little equipment. If you want to scale it up to a larger batch, just multiply the salt and water by the same amount as you increased the vegetables.

After several days, and once the amount is greatly reduced due to snacking, I transfer them to jars to ferment for a couple more weeks until they are really tasty. If you have never had beets fermented, give them a try! I really like raw beets like this, as it is such a nice way to enjoy their earthy flavor.

After about a week in the initial crock, everything takes on the color of the beets. The black radishes are a little strong for my liking, but I am excited to try them after a couple weeks, as I am thinking they will mellow some more. The flesh is really flavorful and nice, but the skin is extremely bitter. The last time I checked, at about 2 weeks of fermentation, they were edible and had mellowed a bit, but the skins were still so bitter.

Clockwise from the top: black radish, beet, turnip, and daikon.

They can be served as a garnish on sandwiches, or eat them with grains and vegetables or meat. They are simple to make, good for your digestive system, and a great way to include more vegetables in your diet.