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Pickled Beets with Red Wine

Source of Recipe

From "The Joy of Pickling" by Linda Ziedrich


Recipe Introduction

"These have none of the harshness of typical pickled beets. Even people who usually scorn beets may love these."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 6 pounds beets, well scrubbed
â—¦ 1 teaspoon whole cloves
â—¦ Two 4-inch cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
â—¦ One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
â—¦ 3 cups sugar
â—¦ 2 cups red wine (not too tannic)
â—¦ 3 cups red wine vinegar (at least 5 percent)
â—¦ 1 tablespoon pickling salt


Recipe

Put the beets into a large pot and pour enough boiling water over them to cover them. Return the water to a boil and boil the beets for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on their size, until they are just tender.

Drain the beets and cover them with cold water. When they are cool, trim them and slip off their skins. If they are large, halve or quarter them - or, if you like, slice all the beets into ¼-inch thick rounds.

Tie the cloves, cinnamon, and ginger in a spice bag or scrap of cheesecloth. Put this into a nonreactive pot with the sugar, wine, vinegar, and salt. Bring the contents to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Simmer the syrup, uncovered, for 10 minutes. (If at this point the syrup doesn't taste spicy enough, let it rest for an hour or two, and then bring it back to a boil.)

Pack the beets into pint mason jars.
Squeeze the spice bag, and remove it from the pan. Pour the hot syrup over the beets, leaving ½ inch headspace. Close the jars with two-piece caps. Process the jars for 30 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Store the cooled jars in a cool, dry, dark place for at least 3 weeks before eating the beets.


Makes 7 to 8 pints