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Baby Beet Pickles

Source of Recipe

From "Blue Ribbon Canning" by Linda J Amendt


Recipe Introduction

"These tasty beet pickles have a sweet, spicy flavor enhanced by raspberry vinegar. Small beets make the best pickles and they can be canned whole. Larger beets should be quartered before canning. Beet pickles make a wonderful addition to a green salad or relish tray or served with roast pork."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 6 pounds 1- to 1 ½-inch-diameter baby beets (80 to 90 small beets)
â—¦ 3 cups raspberry vinegar or red wine vinegar (5% acidity)
â—¦ 1 ½ cups white vinegar
â—¦ 2 cups granulated sugar
â—¦ â…” cup water
â—¦ 2 teaspoons whole allspice
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons canning or pickling salt
â—¦ ½ cinnamon stick


Recipe

Cut off the beet greens, leaving 1 inch of the stem. Using a soft scrub brush, thoroughly scrub the beets in cold water, then rinse well and dry. Trim the taproot to ½ inch long.

Fill an 8-quart stainless steel stockpot half full of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. In four batches, cook the beets just until tender, 8 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the beets. Remove the beets from the water with a slotted spoon and immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water for 1 minute to stop the cooking and loosen the skins. Drain well. Peel the beets, trimming off the stems and taproots.

In an 8-quart stainless steel stockpot, combine the raspberry vinegar, white vinegar, sugar, water, allspice, salt, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the peeled beets and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, pack the beets into hot jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.

Line a fine-mesh sieve with two to three layers of damp fine-knit cheesecloth. Strain the pickling syrup through the sieve. Ladle the hot syrup into the jars, covering the beets and maintaining the ½ inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles. If necessary, add more syrup to maintain the headspace. Wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean, damp paper towel. Apply hot lids and screw bands.

Process both pint and quart jars in a water bath canner for 30 minutes. Remove from the water bath canner and let cool for 12 to 24 hours. Check the seals and remove the screw bands. Store jars in a cool, dry, dark place for up to one year.


Makes about 6 pint jars or 3 (1-quart) jars