Getting Pickled

Over the weekend I had a minor cooking frenzy and in between making BBQ Chicken Pizza, Fresh Lemon Bars, and a lighter version of my grandmother's Chicken Spaghetti, I found myself craving my Nana's Pickled Beets. Tart, cold, sweet, and beautiful. And no pressure canner required. If you can find golden beets at your local farmer's market, try making a batch of golden and a batch of red. They look like jewels in a jar.


Nana's Pickled Beets

Print Recipe

1 gallon beets
6 cups vinegar
7 cups sugar
8 tsp pickling spice

Drain the beets and cut them into chunks (if baby beets, cutting may not be necessary). Pack the beets fairly tightly into clean, dry canning jars. Sprinkle the pickling spice on top of the beets, dividing it equally among the jars. Mix the vinegar and sugar in a large pot on the stove. Bring the mixture to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and immediately pour it into the jars with the beets and spice until it comes very close to the top of the jar. Put the seals on and let them sit until cooled a bit, then pop them in the refrigerator. Leave them alone for 7 days, though I like to give them an occasional shake (it probably serves no purpose, but makes me think I am getting the spices moved around). Since they haven't been processed in a hot water bath they must stay refrigerated, but they do stay good for a long time.

Notes: Use whatever size jars you like, I tend to use pint jars. You end up with about 1 tsp of pickling spice per pint jar or 2 tsp per quart jar. You don't have to be super precise on the spices. If it is hard to find gallon cans of beets, you can use an equivalent amount of small cans or of course you can use freshly boiled and cleaned ones from the garden or produce section. Feel free to add red onions if you like. You can also use sugar substitute or a mixture of sugar substitute and real sugar.

--QC