You can vary the spices in this recipe if you like: add cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns… I use these pickles in a variety of dishes, but one of my favorites is to garnish stuffed eggs with chopped pickled beets.
This recipe is adapted from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, a great resource. Makes 3 half-pints.
Ingredients
1 pound medium-sized beets, red, yellow, doesn’t matter
1 cup white wine vinegar (5 percent acidity)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon pickling salt
Directions
Wash the beets well and place in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over a high heat. Cook until fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain but retain the beet water to make Beet Granita (recipe follows). When cool enough to handle, peel and slice the beets.
Have ready 3 clean half-pint jars and bands, and new lids that have been simmered in hot water to soften the rubberized flange. You don’t need to sterilize the jars. Pack the beets tightly in the jars.
Combine the vinegar, sugar, seeds, and salt in a small pot and bring to a boil over a high heat until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Take off the heat and pour over the beets, making sure the seeds are distributed evenly throughout the jars. Leave ½-inch headroom. Wipe the rims, place on the lids and screw on the bands fingertip tight.
Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes at sea level, plus 2 additional minutes for every 1,000 feet above sea level. You can process pints for the same amount of time. The beet slices may float. It’s OK. Check the seals and store the jars in a cool, dark place for up to a year.
