Pickled Beets

Pickled Beets are an old time favourite that preserve the fresh beet crop for enjoyment all year long.

I know that I am spoiled. I was at the Farmer’s Market last Wednesday and approached one of the stands that had baskets of fresh beets. Unfortunately, most of the baskets were filled with very large beets. I spoke to the farmer and she said that she would bring me a basket of golf ball sized beets on Friday.

A golf size beet is a perfect beet to pickle…nice on a relish tray whole or cut in half

Now, you can certainly pickle larger beets, but you will have to cut them in order to fit a reasonable amount of beet in a canning jar. The smaller beets also cook a little faster. Whether you use little or big beets, it is always good to be cooking beets that are about the same size, so that they will be done at the same time.

My Mom always pickled beets every year. They were a particularly nice treat to be enjoyed with roast chicken or beef.

Print recipe

Serves	makes about 6 1/2 pts (6 500 ml plus one 250 ml jars)
Inspiration	Grammy's Recipe

Ingredients

4 L (quart) basket golf ball size fresh beets
about 30 Whole cloves

Syrup

6 Cups water
6 Cups white vinegar
2 Cups white sugar
1/2 Tsp salt

Directions

Prepare the jars

Wash your canning jars and screw caps in soapy water and then fill with boiling water. Put the sealing snap lids in a pot on the stove with water and heat up to just about boiling, for about 5 minutes to activate the rubber.
Prepare the beets

Wash the beets and then place in a large stock pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook about 20 minutes or until the beets are just done. Drain and then place back in the pot and cover with cold water.

Remove a beet from the water and slip the skin off the beet. If they are a little stuck, then use a clean paper towel to rub off the skin. Only use a knife to remove any bad spots. If you use the knife to remove the peel, then you will not have a nice smooth round beet. Continue until all the beets have had the peel removed.
Prepare the syrup

Place the water, vinegar, salt and sugar in a large pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Keep warm.
Canning the Beets

Empty the water out of a canning jar. Drop in 3 or 4 whole cloves.

Fit the beets into the jar so that you get the most beets per jar. Fill with the vinegar/sugar/water syrup up to 1/4 inch below the rim. Wipe the rim and then place on a hot sealing snap lid from the hot water and secure with a screw cap. Repeat until all the beets have been jarred.

Fill a boiling water canner 2/3 full with water. Bring to a boil with the lid on. Place your filled pickle beet jars into the water immersion holder.

Slowly lower the pickled beet jars into the boiling water bath. Bring the water to a boil again and then cover the canner and process the beets for 30 minutes.

Turn the heat off the canner and lift the pickled beet jars out of the hot water. Place on a heat proof holder. Do not move for 24 hours. The lids will snap, as they cool down, sealing in all the goodness of the pickled beets.

The beet jars can be kept in a cool place for 12 months. Always test the lid when opening the jar. The lid should be firmly attached and need to be opened. You can serve the beets right away, but it is nice to let the flavour deepen a little, so wait 7 days before serving them.