Pickled Beets

[tacmedic]

I am wondering if anyone has any tried and true good tasting recipes for pickled beets? I was fortunate to find a large amount of beets, for a small price at the local farmers market today. Thanks for the help!

[crashdive123]

I am wondering if anyone has any tried and true good tasting recipes for pickled beets? I was fortunate to find a large amount of beets, for a small price at the local farmers market today. Thanks for the help!

I haven't made any, but my grandmother made some great ones. Then I remembered that I had an old cookbook of hers - all hand written - from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. It's got a pickled beet recipe, just not sure if it's the one she used. Here it is.

4 cups sliced cold cooked beets
2 cups vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp minced whole pickling spice tied in cheesecloth
Put beets in clean hot jars, cover with hot spiced vinegar and seal.

I've noticed that looking through the pickling recipes they did not process their food quite the way we do now.

[Sam Reeves]

I haven't made any, but my grandmother made some great ones. Then I remembered that I had an old cookbook of hers - all hand written - from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. It's got a pickled beet recipe, just not sure if it's the one she used. Here it is.

4 cups sliced cold cooked beets
2 cups vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp minced whole pickling spice tied in cheesecloth
Put beets in clean hot jars, cover with hot spiced vinegar and seal.

I've noticed that looking through the pickling recipes they did not process their food quite the way we do now.

By, god, I've never even considered a pickled beet. I'll have to try that one. Thanks, man.

[crashdive123]

Like I said, I haven't made any. But I do love em.

[Ole WV Coot]

They are a staple around here, pinto beans, cornbread, fried potatoes & pickled beets.

[chiggersngrits]

never cared for beets pickled or not. but pickled okra, now thats eatin.

[tacmedic]

Well I pickled and canned about 7 pounds of beets last night. Here is the recipe I wound up using, it is a variation of a recipe that I found on the Center for Food preservation's website:

7 pounds beets cooked and skins removed, sliced.
4 cups of white vinegar
2 cups of sugar
2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
half a handful of whole cloves
half a handful of whole peppercorns (I've never been big on measuring things)

Combine the water, vingear, sugar, salt, and spices in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the sliced beets and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Then ladle the beets into pint jars and cover with the syrup, leaving 1/2" headspace. Process in boiling water canner for 30 minutes.

Just a note for the quality control dept= I took your samples to the post office this morning to mail, and they said I couldn't mail anything that was breakable or liquid. Since these jars of beets meet both criteria I'm afraid I won't be able to send the samples to QC. But, if you're ever in southern Iowa you're welcome to stop by and pick them up! :D

[Ole WV Coot]

never cared for beets pickled or not. but pickled okra, now thats eatin.

Nah, okra was made to be fried just like everything else we eat.:D

[trax]

I haven't had home made pickled beets since my Mom fed them to me a lot of years ago. Think I'm gonna have to try that recipe, bro.

[tacmedic]

They turned out very very tasty. My fiance' has been telling me about something her grandmother used to do, which is put boiled eggs in the left over juice. Has anyone else ever done this? If so does it preserve them, or make it so they can be stored longer in the fridge?

[crashdive123]

One of the watering holes I used to frequent in the 70's had a big jar of hard boiled eggs in a jar of pickled beet juice. Judging by how often the patrons partook in eating them, I'd venture a guess that the jar is still sitting on the bar, and probably still about 3/4 full.

[Beo]

Beets of any kind... yukkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!

[Rick]

I've never done it, Tacmedic, but the pickling juice uses 5% (at least) acidic vinegar so it should preserve the eggs as well.

EDIT:

Here's a recipe using used beet juice. See the second recipe:

http://www.helpwithcooking.com/egg-guide/make-pickled-eggs.html

And another so I guess you can:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1816,157161-238196,00.html