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Recipe for Grandma's Pickled Beets | Almanac.com

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Grandma's Pickled Beets

Photo Credit
MariaKovaleva/shutterstock
Yield
6 pints
Category
Pickles and Preserves
Course
Side Dishes
Credit
Becky Quinn, Springfield, Missouri Ozark Empire Fair, Spring
Sources
Blue Ribbon Recipes

Grandma's Pickled Beets
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Grandmother Lida Quinn’s Pickled Beets Recipe is a classic, offering the perfect combination of sweet and sour tastes. Don’t take our word for it: Grandma’s Pickled Beets won first place at five different Ozark Empire Fairs!

Pickled beets are very easy to make, and wonderful for a salad, snack, or side. Any type of beet works from table beets (red beets) to golden beets.

If you wish, you may make easy and quick refrigerator beets which last about a month in the refrigerator. Or, continue to can by processing in a boiling water-bath for storage up to one year.

Ingredients
35 to 40 small beets or 15 large beets
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 cups white vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon whole cloves
Instructions

In a kettle, cook the beets until tender. Dip in cold water and peel off the skins. Slice 1/4 inch thick or cut into quarters if using smaller beets. Pack tightly (snug but not bruising each other) into canning jars.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water, vinegar, ground cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and whole cloves. Boil for 10 minutes and pour at once over the beets, leaving a 3/4-inch headspace (the liquid should go no farther than the shoulder of the jar).

To can and store, process in a boiling-water bath for 12 minutes. Remove immediately and cool on a rack.

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Comments

JR (not verified)

6 months 3 weeks ago

For a quart, I use about 2 1/2 cups cooked sliced beets saving the juice, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 small sliced onion, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp pickling spice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 bay leaf. In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar and 1/2 cup beet juice and bring to a boil. Add onion, sugar, pickling spice, salt and bay leaf, and return to a boil. Remove from heat, and pour mixture over the beets. Toss until coated, cover and chill. Serve the beets very cold. Keep refrigerated.

Terri (not verified)

6 months 3 weeks ago

Do I have to use so much sugar? Beets are already sweet and I watch my sugar. Any suggestions?

Hi, Terri. The sugar used in pickling is necessary to preserve the vegetables and it also helps to retain texture. But you can see JR’s comment above yours on this page who offers a different recipe with a smaller amount of sugar. We of course have not tried it ourselves, but you may want to.

sam (not verified)

6 months 4 weeks ago

I LIKE THE SKIN, COULD I LEAVE IT ON AND CUT THEM IN 1 INCH PIECES THEN SIMMMER THEM?

Hi, Sam. If you are going to can and process the pickled beets, it is not recommended to leave the skin on. However, if you are making them to be eaten right away, you do not have to peel them.