FoodBanter.com - question about canning beets

In article >,
wrote:

> have picked many beets today and plan to can tomorrow.....they vary in size
> from 1 inch to 3 inch - most are about 2 inch....are the larger ones
> suitable for canning? I cooked several to test and they taste great....I
> have never canned beets before so do not want to screw it up....any advise
> appreciated...Oh one more thing.....the recipe says cook beets 45 minutes
> then cold water & cut off ends remove skin cut into 1 inch pieces pack into
> jars pour brine solution (3 quarts water 1 1/2 pints vinegar and 2 cups
> sugar) then water bath-rolling boil for 15 minutes...I have quite a few
> beets and would like to try 2 or 3 different recipes so if you have a good
> one please post....thanks

Save yourself; the best thing to do with beets is put them on the
compost heap. Trust me.

However, if you ARE hellbent on canning them, you have two options: if
you're not pickling them, they MUST be pressure canned ‹ processing in a
boiling water bath (BWB) is not an option unless you are pickling them.

If you're planning to PICKLE them (which is what your "recipe" above
suggests), **you need a better recipe than that one.** To my untrained
eye, that "brine" does not appear to be acidic enough to ensure safe
processing by BWB. It has too much water for the amount of vinegar
involved. It should have at least as much vinegar as water. Some
recipes have no water.

Get a tested (for safety) recipe. Check the Ball Blue Book * there are
two recipes for pickled beets in it; check the National Center for Home
Food Processing (NCHFP) he
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_06/pickled_beets.html
Follow the recipe.

This is from the Jarden (mfgrs of Kerr & Ball jars) site -- it is for a
*refrigerated* beet pickle, not a processed one:
<http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages...ecipe=82&recip
ID=209&catID=>

Here's Edrena Jones' recipe for Pickled Boiled Dirt Chunks

Pickled Beets with Red Wine [Makes about 7 pints]

Recipe By: Edrena Jones, July 2006, r.f.preserving

6 lbs. beets with rootlets and 2 inches of tops
1 teaspoon whole cloves
Two 4-inch cinnamon sticks broken
One 1-inch piece fresh ginger sliced thin
3 cups sugar
2 cups red wine [I use cabernet sauvignon]
3 cups red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon pickling salt

Scrub the beets. Put them into a large pot, and cover
them with boiling water. Return the water to a boil, and
boil the beets 15 to 35 minutes, depending on their size,
until they are just tender.

Drain the beets, and cover them with cold water. When
they are cool, trim them and slip off their skins. If they
are large, halve or quarter them--or, if you prefer, slice
all the beets into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.

Tie the cloves, cinnamon, and ginger in a spice bag or
scrap of cheesecloth. Put the spice bag, sugar, wine, vinegar,
and salt into a nonreactive pot. Bring the contents to a
boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Simmer the
syrup, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

While the syrup simmers, pack the beets into pint mason
jars. If you've sliced the beets, pack the slices loosely. [! E.]
Pour the hot syrup over the beets, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Close the jars with hot two-piece caps.

Process the jars for 30 minutes in a boiling water bath.
[Mind the altitude adjustments-E.]

Store the cooled jars in a cool, dry, dark place for at
least 3 weeks before eating the beets.

[The part of the beet just under the greens is the part that
can taste like dirt. If the beets are big, be ruthless about
trimming this away. Then eat it, cook's treat!]

[Note: I boiled the beets to tender stage and even after BWB
for 40' at my altitude, the slices still had nice texture, but
I'd go maybe for a little tiny bit less initial boiling next
time. Wayne Boatwright roasts his beets instead of boiling-E]
[You can make these sugar free by using 1+ cups Splenda to
taste and 1+ teaspoons salt to taste. Do the Splenda first.
with the wine/vinegar, then the salt. This is a bit of a
balancing act because while the Splenda is great, it's not
sugar. Do the sugar if you can.]

[I always make a few special jars, slice cooked beets, than
cookie cutter shaped to stars & moons, etc. I make regular
batch in chunks with an apple corer dealy, and keep all the
circular pieces for special jars as above]

From _Joy of Pickling_ by Linda Ziedrich, c.1998,
The Harvard Common Press

Source: Edrena Jones post to rec.food.preserving 7-12-2006
Edrena's comment: Even people who usually scorn beets may like these.
Barb's addenda: Or not.

*******

And here's one that's less involved:

Beet Pickles

3 cups sugar
3 cups water
3 cups cider vinegar
4 tablespoons mixed pickling spices

Cook brine/syrup ingredients to boiling. Add 10 cups cooked and sliced
beets and simmer 10 minutes.

Pack into hot jars, cover with syrup. Process 30 minutes in a boiling
water bath; longer if you're above 1000 feet.

Yield: 3-5 pints

Woo-hoo! Fourth Place ribbon at the Minnesota State Fair 2008‹and I've
never tasted them! Garrison Keillor loved them.

You might also check with your state university's extension service to
see what they have to say.
--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of
St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew;
sometimes in a pickle."
Where are my pearls, Honey?