Every year my daughter and I plant beets in the garden, so I can make her pickled beets. She asked me the other day if we could can them so we have some over the winter.

I have never canned pickled beets. Can anyone tell me the process?

Thanks,

-- jennifer schwabauer (schwabauer@aol.com), April 04, 2001

Answers

Bring beets and juice to a boil, fill hot, clean jars with beets to 11/2 to 2 inches from top. Cover with boiling liquid, wipe rim, put on lid. Process 20 minutes for pints in boiling water bath. Using whole spices works better if you are going to can them.

-- Barbara Fischer (bfischer42@hot mail.com), April 04, 2001.

Since I love pickled eggs that have been soaked in pickled beets, I just had to find a recipe. I was looking one day in my Kerr Home Canning & Freezing Book, and lo and behold there was a recipe for Sweet Pickled Beets. If your beets are larger I just quarter or half them, which ever is more convenient. I also use the wide mouth quart jars. Select small, young beets. Wash. Leave 3 inches of tops on and roots. Cook until skins slip easily (about 15 minutes). Put into cold water. Remove skins, tops and roots. Syrup: 2 cups sugar; 2 cups water; 2 cups vinegar; 1 teaspoon cloves; 1 teaspoon allspice; 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Pack beets into jars to within 1/2 inch of top. Pour boiling syrup over beets to within 1/2 inch of top of jar. Process 30 minutes in Boiling Water Bath. If you need help with Boiling Water Bath, just put another thread on and I'll send the process to you. Coleen (wife of Woodsbilly)

-- woodsbilly (coleenl@penn.com), April 04, 2001.

Thanks for the advice. Our beets are up and my daughter is beside herself, with excitment. The weeks it takes for them to mature will be torture for her.

Thanks again and good gardening.

-- jennifer (schwabauer@aol.com), April 05, 2001.

And, if you wash the beets and tops VERY WELL before you cook them, you can use the water that the beets were cooked in to make jelly afterwards. IF I can find my recipe, it uses jello along with the juice and sugar, to make either fake raspberry, strawberry, etc. Good, and if you don't tell the family it was made from beet juice, they will never know! Jan

-- Jan in Co (Janice12@aol.com), April 06, 2001.

I don't have a specific recipe, but I wanted to warn you about the 1st response to your question. You should never process plain beets in a boiling water canner. Beets are a low acid food and can be very dangerous unless processed under high temperature/pressure or with acid (by pickling). If you have questions about food safety, contact your local University Cooperative Extension. They often have a food preservation hotline.

-- Becca Alviani (becca@globaldsl.net), September 26, 2001.