At my house, we are blessed to enjoy three meals a day plus a few snacks in between on occasion. My Grandmother had a different way of doing food. As a farm family, she served breakfast, brunch, lunch, supper, dinner, dessert, early night snack, and if you were up late - late night snack. During most meals, you could almost always find a bowl of sliced pickled beets on the table.
Sadly, though I still make Grandma Bertha’s old-fashioned beet recipe, eating them daily is not a tradition I carried on in my family. Instead, I like to incorporate her pickled beets chopped over salads, sliced thin as a topping on sandwiches or burgers, serve with warm goat cheese for an enticing starter, and enjoyed as a side with meals. They add just the right touch of big flavor without becoming the focus of the dish. These pickled beets would be a delicious addition to my Indian Curry Chickpeas and Spinach Salad and as a side to my Sweet Orange Salmon. But you don’t have to prepare a meal to enjoy this health-packed Super-food whenever the craving calls. Grab a fork and dig in; it’s hard to resist eating them right out of the jar!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you’ve made it please share it with me by tagging @culinarybutterfly on Pinterest.
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- 8 medium beets
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons whole allspice
- 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
Ingredients
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- If you are canning the beets for long-term storage, fill a large pot with a few canning jars and water just above the jars. Bring to a rolling boil for 5 minutes. Remove jars from water and set aside. If you are refrigerating the beets, skip this step.
- Rinse the beets and trim tips of the beets on both ends. Place the beets in a large pot, cover the beets with water and cover. Bring to a boil on high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Strain hot water from the pot and fill the pot with cold water and ice over the beets.
- While the beets are cooling, combine the vinegar, sugar, cloves, allspice, and salt into the same pot. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
- Once cooled to the touch, rub the skin off of the beets under running water before slicing into 1/4-inch rounds. Place the beets into the jars, leaving a 1/2-inch space at the top for the liquid. Ladle the liquid into the jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace on the top. Use a cloth to wipe the rims of the jars. Place a flat ring and lid on each jar. Finger tighten and place back into the water bath.
- Process jars 30 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat; remove lid, and let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Bring to a boil and process for 5 minutes. Remove jars and let cool.
Note: Beet sizes vary so you may want to double the brine ingredients if you want to ensure enough brine for the number of beets being canned. Discard extra brine not needed for the jars.
Recipe by Bertha Lauer for www.culinarybutterfly.com
Comments
LOOKING FOR A GOOD PICKLED BEET RECIPE
Hi Linda,
Yes this pickled beet recipe was my grandmother’s and it is really simple to make and so good! Hope you enjoy it!
Lisa
i made this last night with 4KG of home grown beetroots, lovely!!
Wonderful! I’m so glad you like the recipe! Enjoy, and happy holidays!
All my best, Lisa
I have 30 lbs of beets how would I do the measurement for that?
Thanks Melissa
Hi Melissa,
30 pounds! Wow! What a nice harvest! Because beets come in different sizes it is hard to indicate the number of beets needed for this recipe. If you are planning to can all the beets, you will want to work in batches when adding the cut beets into the hot jars. Then ladle the hot liquid as into the jars directed. This is the best way to approach canning when working with a large amount of beets. Hope that helps. Good luck!
Lisa~
Hi. How many jars of beets did you get from 4kg of beets & what size jars
Hi Mel,
I use pint size jars when canning pickled beets. I usually get approximately 5-6 pint size jars with this recipe but it varies depending on the size of beets used. The larger beets take up more space in the jar the smaller size sliced beets take less space and require more beets to get the same amount of jars as the larger beets. Hope that helps. Enjoy the canning!
Lisa~
My Mother w4ould let the younger children skin the beets. We had purple hands for a week. She also used cloves in her beets. Made for good eating.
What a great childhood memory! Clover is the beets is so delicious and it adds an extra level of health benefits too! Thanks for sharing, Carolyn!
Lisa
Haha! There is nothing better than food nostalgia, especially when it brings back memories of our moms. Thank you for sharing that wonderful story!
All my best, Lisa
A clarification question about the recipe:
I’m assuming you use some of the strained water from the beets. How much? Is it a one to one ratio with the vinegar?
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for asking. The beets are boiled, cooled, peeled and chopped then added to the hot jars. The liquid is made separately and added on top. If you follow the recipe it should give the correct measurements for the suggested beets and liquid but there are often variables depending on the beet sizes which may require additional jars or more liquid. When I can a large harvest o beets I usually have to prepare additional liquid to accommodate the additional beets. Hope that clarifies the question on ratio for you.
Lisa~
So you dont add any water to the vinegar mixture? Thankyou.
Great question, Jeanette. No water is added to the vinegar. The mixture of vinegar and spices creates the deep flavor of the pickled beets and creates the long shelf life needed when canning beets. Hope this helps. Have a beautiful day!
Lisa
Didn’t have enough liquid for my jars
Hi Lynn
You can always top the jars off with vinegar if you are short on liquid. Hope you enjoy the pickled beets!
Lisa
I made this kind of pickled beets for my daughter and her husband who couild almost live on them. When she opened them for the first time her eyes flew opened wide and she declare they taste just like Christmas. A success.
Fred Kanne
Hi Fred,
How wonderful! I really love your daughter’s comment! There is nothing better than food nostalgia and especially when it reminds someone of Christmas! I’m so happy the pickled beets were a success for you. Thank you for sharing!
Lisa~
Hi! I have an old recipe similar to this but the salt is not involved. Is that ok with waterbathing the beets?
Hi Lauren,
If your recipe is a tried and true pickled beet recipe you should be fine. The salt is a preservative and helps to add flavor to the beets as it pickles. Give my recipe a try and decide if it’s noticeably different from yours. I’d love to hear how it goes! Enjoy!
Lisa
I bought 3 cans of red beets, never thought to look for pickled, on the label.
1. How much sugar,vinegar etc do I need for each can ?
2. Can I store the above mixture in the refrigerator ?
3. How long will it keep ?
Hi Carole,
No problem at all. The quantity of liquid depends on how many beets are in your cans. I would follow the quantity I recommend and discard any unneeded liquid after canning your beets. Once you add your beets to the boiled jars, cover them with the lids as directed, and can bring your beets to a boil for 5 minutes. The final results may be a bit softer because they were already processed but the flavor should be perfect. If canned, they will keep on the shelf for a few years. If not, they will last in the refrigerator for up to three months. Let me know how it goes!
Enjoy! Lisa
Love this Recipe but I can’t remember how long to wait before I try these beauties and get all the maximum flavour. Thought it was on your page but couldn’t find it.
Help?
Hi Craig
Good question! I recommend allowing them to pickle for at least a week in the refrigerator if you don’t can them. However, the longer they pickle the better they are! I make large batches in the summer and fall months when beets are in abundance and store the on my shelf after water bath canning them. They are shelf stable for 1-2+ years if sealed properly through the canning process. Enjoy!
Lisa~
What size jars do you use or does it matter?
Hi Brenda,
It doesn’t matter what size jar you use but you’ll want to fill the jar as close to the top with beets and liquid, leaving some head space. I like to make pint size jars to make it easy to have in the refrigerator once opened. Hope this helps!
Lisa~
I’m new at this a bit confused & wondering if the beets should be in the fridge right after cooling in the jars & stay stored in the fridge if jarred.
Just want to do this right.
Thanks
Excellent question, Bruce!
I suggest cooling the jars on your counter for a few hours before refrigerating. If you are waterbath canning the beets for a longer shelf life, store them in a cool dark space once the jars are cooled. Enjoy!
Lisa~
Do you leave the spices in when adding the liquid to the jars? Or do you strain out the spices so they don’t go in the jar?
H Hannah,
Very good question. I leave the spices in when I add the beets the the jars to give them a full flavor as they are pickled. Hope that helps!
Lisa~
Lazy question, can you cut them into “fry” shapes or will this mess with hownthe liquid is absorbed? Kinda how greenbeans sit in a jar.
Hi Jake,
Absolutely! I love the idea of creating fry shape pickled beats and it would be a wonderful way to serve them in an appetizer platter as well! Thanks for sharing the idea!
Lisa
How lon should I wait to eat them if I refrigerate them
Hi Brenda,
The longer they ferment the better but I would wait at least a week before eating to give them time to pickle. They are shelf stable for 2-3 years if you water bath can them. Enjoy!
Hello list I am just wondering when you say white vinegar what percentage acidity are you using . Do I use pickling white vinegarnor regular white vinegar ( first time canner haha )
Hi Tay,
Good question! I use and recommend distilled white vinegar for pickling the beets. Once the beets are pickled the flavor is really wonderful! Best of luck with your first time canning! It’s a lot of fun!
Lisa~
I just followed your receipt for canning beets, my question is , when water bathing how much water do you use
Excellent question, Violet
Make sure the jars are covered by the water by atleast an inch and boil for the time suggested. That’s it! Good luck with canning!
Lisa
Love this recipe! I can’t wait to try it!! Would you recommend 30 minutes for water canning these?
Hi Shanna,
So glad you found my recipe for Old Fashioned Pickled Beets. I know you will love them! Follow the method I recommend on the recipe including timing on water bath canning and it will be perfect. Good luck!
Lisa~
Linda… I didn’t have enough brine and couldn’t make more as I ran out of picking spice. 4x the recipe already! Can I freeze the leftover boiled beets and later make more brine and pickle from the THAWED boiled beets? I got 9 big jars done but have about 4 that I threw into the freezer.
Hi Linda,
Wow, you are going to town on preserving your beets! I love it! Yes, you can easily freeze the peeled and sliced boiled beets as recommended in the recipe before freezing. If you plan to do more pickling in the future, I always recommend having a few extra bags of pickling spices on hand for when you need them. It’s easy to run out! I’ve done it many times! Good luck with your fall canning. It’s the perfect time to make pickled beets!
Lisa~
I live at 7000 elevation. Do I have to increase the water bath time?
Hi Tina,
I recommend looking at this elevation table for water bath canning to find the correct timing for your area. Good luck! https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1199&context=extension_curall
Lisa!
THANK YOU so much for this Lisa! This will be my first time pickling beets- I love pickled beets- and this sounds to be tried & true!
Here’s one for you- if you don’t like it too hot- exchange some of the hot peppers for medium or sweet- our favourite is this version…
Tangiest Corn Relish. ***FAVOURITE***
8 cups (1 litre) corn
Chop the following ingredients in food processor;
1 1/2 sweet red pepper ️
1 sweet green pepper.
2 hot red peppers. ️
14-16 jalapeños
2 yellow medium hot peppers. 2
7-8 green cayenne peppers. 7-8.
1 cup celery (or a little more).
5-6 Onions
1 cup cabbage
MIX 3/4 cups flour
1 Tablespoon turmeric
1/4 cup dry mustard
Blend with SOME of the vinegar below to make a paste then add the rest
7-8 cups vinegar
2 1/2 Tablespoons salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons celery seed
1 Tablespoon mustard seed
4 Tablespoons Tabasco sauce.
Mix all ingredients in a canning pot and simmer 45 minutes
STIR FREQUENTLY
Process as usual!
Hi Sally,
This recipes sounds fantastic! I look forward to trying it!
Lisa~
per USD, pickled beets should be processed (water bath) for 30 minutes.
Thank you, Heidi