June 9, 2009: The Beet Goes On!

The "beet" goes on, the "beet" goes on

Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da

The first quart of pickled beets of the year! I basically used the same recipe that I used last year, but increased both the beet cooking liquid and the sugar. In a week or two I'll let you know if I like it any better. I thought last year's recipe was a bit too vinegary.

*Important Note*

This recipe might be fine if you are going to refrigerate them and eat quite soon, but after reading the newer canning guidelines, it doesn't have a high enough vinegar to water ratio to be completely safe for canning.

Pickled Beets
makes 4 pints

24 small beets
2 cups cooking liquid (original recipe calls for 1 cup)
2 cups cider vinegar
2 cups cups sugar (original recipe calls for 1 - 1/2 cups)
2 Tbsp. salt (I used much less, about 1 tsp.)
6 whole cloves
1 (3") stick cinnamon
3 medium onions, sliced

Remove beet tops, leaving root and 1" of the stem. Cover with boiling water; cook until tender. Drain, reserving 2 cups liquid. Remove skins and slice or quarter larger beets (I left the small beets whole).

Combine reserved cooking liquid, vinegar, sugar and salt. Add spices, tied in cheesecloth bag (I just dump 'em in, bagless). Heat to boiling.

Add beets and onions; simmer 5 minutes. Remove spice bag.

I then poured it all into a clean quart jar, and it's sitting on my counter until cool enough to refrigerate. The aroma is delightful! It only made one quart, but there was a lot of pickling liquid left over.