There is nothing quite like a group of women gathered around the kitchen bench for a day of fermenting vegetables mixed with lots of laughter and stories. Last year we did this in one of my cooking workshops; it was a cool winter day and we preceded to wash, cook, chop, slice, press, mash, and stuff jars with all sorts of edibles.

These quick-pickled eggs with onion and beetroot were pickled in apple cider vinegar which is high in acetic acid. Like other acids, acetic acid can increase your body’s absorption of important minerals from the foods you eat. 

Foods like these that are pickled have been preserved in an acidic medium. In the case of various types of pickles you find on the shelves of shops, the pickling comes from vinegar. These vegetables, however, are not fermented (even though vinegar itself is the product of fermentation) and hence do not offer the probiotic and enzymatic value of homemade wild fermented vegetables.

 We also used beet juice, so that the eggs whites turn a beautiful fuchsia pink. You can see for yourself they really are a show stopper.  The longer you keep the eggs in the pickling liquid, the deeper it penetrates into the eggs.   

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2-1 cup water (use more if the water level doesn’t cover the other ingredients)
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1/4 tablespoon whole allspice or cardamom
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3-4 medium beets, untrimmed and unpeeled
• 1 medium onion sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 4-5 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

Method

1. Wash the beets and trim the stems, leaving about 1 inch of stem. Place in a pot, cover with water and boil for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the beets are just tender. Drain, cool, and peel them. Reserve the beetroot juice.
2. Combine the sugar, vinegar, beet juice or water, sea salt, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and cool.
4. Place the onions, beets and hard-boiled eggs in a large jar.
5. Pour the vinegar mixture over the eggs in the jar, covering the eggs completely. Cover tightly with a lid and allow it to cool.
6. Store in the refrigerator 2-4 weeks.   
7. The pickled eggs will be ready to eat after a few days. The longer the eggs sit in the pickling juice, the more the pickling juice will penetrate the eggs.