Pickled beets make use of a large beet harvest and helps store them long into winter months. The unique flavor will surely make these a staple in your pantry!Ā
To learn more about canning and food preservation, check out Jackie Clayās article The ABCs of Canning and Roberta Baileyās Learn to Can for Homegrown Flavor.Ā Ā
The following is an excerpt from the Complete Guide to Home Canning by the United States Department of Agriculture (2009).Ā Ā Ā
Pickled Beets RecipeĀ Ā
Yields approximately 8 pints.Ā
Ingredients:Ā Ā Ā
7 lbs of 2- to 2-1/2-inch diameter beetsĀ
4 c. vinegar (5 percent)Ā
1 1/2Ā Ā tsp canning or pickling saltĀ
2 cups sugarĀ
2 cups waterĀ
2 cinnamon sticksĀ
12 whole clovesĀ
4 to 6 onions (2 to 2 1/2-inch diameter), if desiredĀ Ā
Instructions:Ā Ā Ā
Trim off beet tops, leaving 1 inch of stem and roots to prevent bleeding of color. Wash thoroughly. Sort for size. Cover similar sizes together with boiling water and cook until tender (about 25 to 30minutes). Caution: Drain and discard liquid.Ā
Cool beets. Trim off roots and stems and slip off skins. Slice into 1/4-inch slices. Peel and thinly slice onions.
Combine vinegar, salt, sugar, and fresh water. Put spices in cheesecloth bag and add to vinegar mixture. Bring to a boil. Add beets and onions. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove spice bag.
Fill jars with beets and onions, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Add hot vinegar solution, allowing 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process, using theĀ timetable below.Ā
Variation: Pickled Whole Baby Beets RecipeĀ
Follow above directions but use beets that are 1 to 1Ā½Ā inches in diameter. Pack whole; do not slice. Onions may be omitted.Ā
Recommended Process Time for Pickled Beets in a Boiling-Water CannerĀ
Hot-pack beets into either quart or pint jars and process the number of minutes specified below based on your altitude.
0 to 1, 000 feet above sea level: Process pickled beets for 30 minutes.
1,001 to 3,000 feet: 35 minutes
3,001 to 6,000 feet: 40 minutes
Above 6,000 feet: 45 minutesĀ
Photo by Fotolia/Louella FolsomĀ Ā
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Boil fresh, washed beets until tender. Chill in cold water to slip skins. Slice or quarter, or leave very small ones whole. Fill clean, hot jars with hot beets, leaving 1/2" headroom. Add 1/2 tsp. salt to pints, 1 tsp. to quarts (salt is optional, however). While beets are cooking, make a pickling syrup of 2 parts vinegar (1/4 of this may be water if you like it weaker) to 2 parts sugar and bring to a boil. . **A variation is to spice the beets, as I usually do. For 3 quarts of beets, add to the vinegar/sugar solution a small cheesecloth bag containing: two cinnamon sticks, one teaspoon each of whole allspice and cloves, and one tablespoon mustard seed. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, remove spice bag. Add the boiling pickling syrup, again leaving 1/2" headroom. Adjust lids and process in BW bath for 30 minutes for either pints or quarts. **I donāt put the salt in the jars, and I definitely use the spices. Totally awesome!
my mom used to put regular distilled vinegar and sugar but i dont know the rest can you tell me your recipe how you do your beets it would be very helpfull.
We pickle beets by 1. boiling till tender 2. cooling them cold water, easier to peel 3. slicing in a square pyrex with balsamic vinegar Don't do anything else. To peel use a wet paper towel which can be composted after, saves red hands.