Sweet Pickled Ice Chest Beets

Apparently I inherited my Mother’s love of beets, where as no one else in my family loves them. They don’t dislike them, but nor do they get excited when I announce “Ooh, let’s have Borscht!” or “Mmmmm! Beets and Farro? Delicious!” So I figure I will be eating both jars of my refrigerator pickled beets by myself. My Mom would have tucked into them with me, I am sure of that 😉

I was inspired by a recipe in the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living, on page 128, for pickled beets. It was from a set of recipes for Swedish Delights. Of which most I wasn’t interested in, but oh, beets? I changed the vinegar to apple cider (from white-wine) to avoid sulfites and left out the horseradish. And since I was going to feast, I figured I might as well double it and make it worth the effort, so my recipe is a double.

Oh yeah, and to get back at them for rolling their eyes, as I trimmed the beets, I saved the stalks. Washed, dried and chopped, then sautéed with the other vegetables and sprinkled on their handmade pizza. Hehe! Waste not, want not, or something. It was quite delicious I might add, and no one noticed.

PS: One neat thing about this recipe is they are low in sodium. So enjoy, unlike normal pickles, these won’t wipe out a day’s worth of salt in one snack.

Sweet Pickled Beets

Ingredients:

Vinegar –

• 3 cups water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
• 1 large onion, peeled, halved and thickly sliced
• 10 peppercorns
• 4 allspice berries
• 2 bay leaves

Beets –

• 2 bunches organic beets
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 allspice berries

Directions:

Vinegar –

Add all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, let cool while making beets.

Beets –

Cut stalks and roots off beets, scrub well to remove any dirt. Place in a large pot, cover with cold water, add bay leaves and allspice berries. Bring to boil, lower heat to maintain a simmer, loosely covered. Simmer for about 45 minutes or until beets are tender when poked with a fork (small beets may take less, large ones longer). Drain beets in a colander, when cool enough to handle rub peels off, discarding them and the spices. Cut beets into quarters.

Divide beets between two sterile quart mason jars. Divide the vinegar, ladling it in, including the spices, carrots and onions. Tape jars gently to settle, then seal jars.

Refrigerate beets for at least 2 days before enjoying.

Makes about 2 quarts.

~Sarah