It is unbelievable how much of a mess one tiny beet can make…

There are days that I should just sit and read a book. No matter what I tried to do today, it did not go smoothly. I wanted to finish up my pickling with a batch of pickled beets.

Easy enough  or so I thought. First I discovered that I did not have any more mason jars. Luckily, I keep all sorts of dry goods like raisins and spices in glass jars so I transferred the contents of six bottles to plastic tubs. Next, I realized that I had left my pickling spice and whole cloves at the farm. At this point, I was ready to chew the head off of a nail. My beets were boiling away on the stove and I had nothing to flavor them with. I went through my spices and decided on a hot Indian pepper and a little piece of cinnamon bark. I will not be giving any of this batch to my family!

For what ever reason, I was wearing an off white sweater. As I stood at the sink, mindlessly peeling the beets, I was showered in a deep reddish purple beet juice. The culprit was as big as a hazelnut. I have no idea how a beet that small could produce so much purple paint – all over the front of me…

Pickled Beets

makes 6 – 500 ml jars

5 lbs small beets, scrubbed clean

Place beets in a deep pot and cover with cold water.

Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook until fork tender.

Drain and cover with cold water.

Peel beets under the water to avoid being sprayed.

Prepare jars by following manufacturer’s instructions.

1 quart white vinegar

1 cup water

3 1/2cups white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Bring vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil – keep warm

Usually I use a little pickling spice or 1 whole clove per bottle – this year I used 1 dried chili and 1/2″ piece of cinnamon bark per bottle. I will let you know how they taste in about 6 weeks!

Pack beets in jars – one at a time –  cover with brine and seal.

Repeat brine recipe if you run out.

The pickling season, for me,  is over for another year.

Thanks for reading.