Dill Pickled Beets

Dill Pickled Beets

My Aunt Marie was a founding church member that helped raise money by selling her home preserves.

She was one very serious canner. I remember many visits to her house and smelling the delicious cooking aromas that lingered in the air.

This next recipes was one of her best offerings and she would produce several batches which were presold each season. I remember as a lad helping her pick, clean and peel several baskets of fruit and vegetables for this purpose. She taught me lots of things about canning that I later found very useful in my career as a chef.

This pickled beet recipe is simple to do and will put a smile on your face after tasting.

 

You will need:

8 cups of small beets

1 cup chopped onion

16 sprigs of dill weed.

1 tbs of fresh grated horse radish

2 cups of sugar

2 tsp of pickling salt

1 cup filtered beet cooking juice

2 cups fresh white vinegar

1 cup cider vinegar

 

To cook beets leave the root and some stem on so as to help stop them from bleeding as much. Boil gently till tender.

When I do this chore I wear plastic food gloves to handle the warm beets and stop from staining my hands

Trim and peel. Cut the bigger cooked beets into cubes.

Add the onion, horseradish and mix with the beets.

Place a couple of dill sprigs into the sterile jars and cover with the cooked beets

In a stainless steel pot heat the vinegar, the beet cooking juice, salt and sugar just long enough to dissolve the sugar.

Pour over the beets in the sterilized jars leaving 1/4″ head space

 

Cover with lids and screw caps and tighten.

Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes.