Pickled Beets

As Dad and I planned our garden this spring he asked eagerly, "Should we do beets?"

"We can do beets if YOU want them, but I don't care for them."

So beets we planted and beets we grew. And, when we had time to set aside, beets we pickled. All my siblings remember that Dad has always put up with the beets so that he could have those pink pickled eggs from the brine after the beets are eaten. Whether we are rewriting history or he is, he now says, "Oh no, I love beets."

It was interesting to spend this day in the kitchen with my dad. I remember always have pickled beets around, but I never remember making them with Mom. Being late garden season, of course we had other things to can besides the beets. On this day, we did tomato juice, pickle relish and beets.

Here is her recipe:

Pickled Beets

1 gallon beets
2 c. water
2 c. sugar
2 c. vinegar
1 sliced lemon
1 T cinnamon
1 t. cloves
1 t. allspice



Boil the beets until you can slip the skins off. Rinse them in cold water and the skins should peel off easily as you rub them with your thumbs. Slice them as desired and place them in jars.



In a stockpot, combine the water, sugar, vinegar and lemon.



Into a cheesecloth bag measure cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Tie the bag shut and float in the brine. Bring to a boil.

Pour brine over sliced beets leaving one inch headroom.



Process jars 15 minutes to seal.

Observe and Learn

Dear Friends, I've been happily preserving the fruits of my gardening labor, but in the last day or two, it has taken a hellacious turn. I was on Day 3 of making tomato juice. I couldn't imagine eating that much chili in my lifetime, but it was the simplest thing to think of making at the time. At my last trip to the garden, I also picked a few jalapenos, so with the last of the tomatoes I had on hand, I threw together some salsa to can.

Long story short, one jar exploded out of its spot and landed, broken, on top of the other jars in the canner, just as you see here. It could have been so much worse, but a few spatters did land on my arm and there are couple of tiny blisters which I am not enjoying this morning.


The canner is really gross now and I need to get it cleaned out because....

...there will be more tomatoes to pick next week.