Beet Pickles

Prepare canner, jars and lids.Place clean jars in canner and fill with water until jars are covered. Bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Keep jars hot until you’re ready to use them. They do not need to boil. You will also use this water for hot water processing when the jars are filled.

Place clean lids in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Do not boil. Keep lids hot until you use them.

Wash beets, but do not peel. If possible, keep one inch of the tops on.

Put them in a large pot and cover with water. Add 1 tsp of salt to the water and bring to a boil.

Boil beets until just tender. Test with a fork.

Drain and run cold water over them.

Slide the skins off.

In a large stainless-steel saucepan, combine all brine ingredients. Dissolve sugar and bring the mixture to a boil. Allow to simmer while you prepare beets.

Cut beets into uniform sizes and put into hot sterilized jars. Fill each jar to 1-inch from the top.

Add enough brine to fill jars to within ½-inch from the top.

Remove air by running a knife around the inside of the jar and add more brine as needed.

Wipe rim with clean damp cloth.

Center lid on jar and screw band down to finger-tip tight.

Place jars in canner and cover completely with water.

Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes, if at sea level. Adjust processing time according to your elevation above sea level.

Remove from heat.

Remove lid tilting it away from you and wait five minutes before removing jars.

Place jars on a heat resistant surface and allow to sit for 24 hours before labelling and storing.

The lids will snap down when they seal.