Pickled Beets
One of the easiest pickles to make, preserved beets in a sweet brine.
Servings: 5 jars
Equipment
- 5 jars - 1 pint or 500 ml or 2 cups each - with new lids and seals
Ingredients
- 12-15 larger beets
- 4 cups vinegar
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp pickling spice can be tied or sewed in a bag, or loose
Instructions
- Cook beets in a large pot of boiling water until tender but not too soft. Drain and allow to cool. Peel when cool enough to handle. Fresh beets should peel quite easily after boiling.
- Add vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a large pot. Pickling spices can be tied or sewn into clean non dyed fabric or left loose in pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 15 minutes.
- Trim stems from beets and cut into bite sized pieces. Fill clean sterilized jars to within no more than ½ inch from the top of the jar.
- Carefully pour very hot brine over beets to no more than ¼ inch from the top of the jar. Wipe rims with damp cloth to ensure a good seal.
- Top jars with new seals and rings. Do not over tighten.
- To prepare jars for pantry storage, bring a large canner or other pot to a boil. Add jars to the canner rack without touching each other and lower into pot. Water should be deep enough to fully immerse jars. If you don't have a rack, lay a clean colourless dishcloth in the bottom of the pot and carefully lower jars onto the cloth. Cover pot and simmer jars for 12-13 minutes. If you have smaller jars, process for 8 minutes.
- Remove from water bath and cool on the counter. Seals will pop as jars cool.
- Store jars in the pantry for at least 3 weeks before opening.
Notes
If you do not wish to water bath can the pickled beets, store them in the refrigerator. They will last quite some time. But to safely store pickles they should be water bath canned to remove any bacteria.