Mom’s Beet Pickles
I have been canning pickled beets with this recipe for the past 30 years. It’s a recipe passed down from my Mom and it is one of the best pickled beet recipes out there. What I like about it is it’s simplicity. I often give jars of these pickles away to friends. What I hear most often from them is how much they taste like the ones their mother or grandmother made. Every time I open a jar of these beet pickles, the jar is empty by the end of the meal.
Beet Pickles
makes 4-500mL or 2 Litre jars
Ingredients
4 lbs beets with 1” tops intact
Water to cover
Brine
2 cups sugar
2 cups white 5% vinegar
1 cup water
Directions
Clean and trim beets leaving 1 inch of stem. Cook beets in water in a large pot until tender. Depending on the size of the beets this can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. Remove from heat and let the water cool. Once cool enough to place your hands in, peel the beets. The skins should slide off easily. Leave tiny beets whole and cut larger beets into about 1 inch chunks or ¼ slices.
Place 4 clean 1 pint mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F). Set screw bands aside. Heat snap lids in hot water, not boiling (180°F). Keep jars and lids hot until ready to use. If you have a steam oven with a sterilize jam jar setting, you can avoid the boiling water canner and follow the steam oven directions for heating your jars. If you use the steam oven, ensure you have the canner partially filled with water and heated to a boil (212°F).
Stir together sugar, vinegar and water in a stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring brine to a boil, stirring often to ensure the sugar dissolves and does not burn on the bottom of the pot.
Pack beets in jars leaving ½ inch headspace, ladle brine over beets. Remove air bubbles and add brine, if necessary, for ½ inch headspace. Wipe jar rim to remove any food or brine and place warm lid on the jar. Apply band and tighten to fingertip tight. Place the jar in boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.
Process for 30 minutes* (adjusting for altitude). Turn off heat and let the canner cool for 5 minutes before removing jars. Place on a cloth, right side up, on the counter to cool.
Check seal after 24 hours. Remove rims, wipe the jars clean, label with contents and date. Store in cool dark place for up to 18 months.
Tip: When boiling beets make sure they are all of similar size so they cook evenly.
Tip: Leaving 1 inch of the beet top on the beet helps to stop the beet from bleeding. Water will still be coloured, but not as much as if you cut all the stem away.
*Altitude adjustment for boiling water method
Altitude in feet Increase processing time by
1001 to 3000 5 minutes
3001 to 6000 10 minutes
6001 to 8000 15 minutes
8001 to 10000 20 minutes
