jen4
Chillin' In The Garden
How do you can yours.............
Beets...
- Thread starter jen4
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4grandbabies
Deeply Rooted
I only know the old fashioned method of making pickled beets.
cut off tops leaving about 1 inch of top-if you actually cut into the beet to get the top off they will bleed out their beautiful color.
scrub beats, but dont make them"bleed".
I put mine in a large pot and boil till semi tender. You dont want them soft and mushy
Dump in sink to drain hot liquid off, cover with cold water and cool to handle , then slip their peelings off.
they can be sorted into small-which you leave whole, larger ones can be sliced or quartered.. what ever you like
pack them in clean sterlized hot canning jars.and put a teaspoon full of pickling spices in each jar most people like the ones that have cloves, allspice etc
while they were cooking you should have prepared the following;
2 cups sugar 2 cups vinegar
2 cups water, this should be boiling, pour over beets in the jars,leaving a 1/2" head space, seal and let set. usually you can start eating them after about 3 weeks to a month. depending on how many you have-just double the recipe accordingly
cut off tops leaving about 1 inch of top-if you actually cut into the beet to get the top off they will bleed out their beautiful color.
scrub beats, but dont make them"bleed".
I put mine in a large pot and boil till semi tender. You dont want them soft and mushy
Dump in sink to drain hot liquid off, cover with cold water and cool to handle , then slip their peelings off.
they can be sorted into small-which you leave whole, larger ones can be sliced or quartered.. what ever you like
pack them in clean sterlized hot canning jars.and put a teaspoon full of pickling spices in each jar most people like the ones that have cloves, allspice etc
while they were cooking you should have prepared the following;
2 cups sugar 2 cups vinegar
2 cups water, this should be boiling, pour over beets in the jars,leaving a 1/2" head space, seal and let set. usually you can start eating them after about 3 weeks to a month. depending on how many you have-just double the recipe accordingly
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- #3
jen4
Chillin' In The Garden
Thanks
lesa
Garden Master
I froze my extras. They kept pretty well. I think they lost a little flavor- but not much....I peeled them, cooked them a little and put into freezer bags. Delish!!
Ridgerunner
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I just canned 13 pints. I assume you know the basic pressure canning process. The method I used
Cut off tops, leaving roots and 1" of stem.
Wash well, don't bleed as mentioned above.
Cover with boiling water and cook until tender, 15 to 25 minutes. (I sorted by size and boiled the very small ones about 18 minutes, the large ones for the full 25.)
Drain, cool, slip off the skins and trim the ends and roots.
Slice, cube or leave whole as you desire. I sliced mine.
Pack the beets into hot pint or quart jars. I had two different guides. One said to pack them within 1/2" of the top. The other said within 1". I used 3/4".
Add salt if you desire, 1/2 teaspoon to pints and 1 teaspoon to quarts.
Pour in boiling water to within 1/2" or 1" (I used 3/4") of the top. Release the air bubbles. I used a plastic chopstick to run along the sides and poke down into the beets, also packing the beets tighter while I was getting the air out. Correct the water level as it may have dropped. (The guide I used said to use the water you boiled the beets in. I used fresh boiling water instead. I did not trust that I got all the dirt off when I washed them before I boiled them.)
Wipe the top of the jars with a damp cloth.
Put on lids and screw bands.
Process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds, 30 minutes for pints and 35 minutes for quarts. (I corrected for elevation and used 11 pounds.)
Last year we pickled beets pretty much using the process by 4grandbabies. They were very good. Since we had a more this year, we decided to try to can them. I'll be interested to see how they actually turn out.
By the way, I also canned 8 pints of beet greens. Don't discard those greens. They are excellent. My wife prefers the greens to the beets.
Hope this helps
Cut off tops, leaving roots and 1" of stem.
Wash well, don't bleed as mentioned above.
Cover with boiling water and cook until tender, 15 to 25 minutes. (I sorted by size and boiled the very small ones about 18 minutes, the large ones for the full 25.)
Drain, cool, slip off the skins and trim the ends and roots.
Slice, cube or leave whole as you desire. I sliced mine.
Pack the beets into hot pint or quart jars. I had two different guides. One said to pack them within 1/2" of the top. The other said within 1". I used 3/4".
Add salt if you desire, 1/2 teaspoon to pints and 1 teaspoon to quarts.
Pour in boiling water to within 1/2" or 1" (I used 3/4") of the top. Release the air bubbles. I used a plastic chopstick to run along the sides and poke down into the beets, also packing the beets tighter while I was getting the air out. Correct the water level as it may have dropped. (The guide I used said to use the water you boiled the beets in. I used fresh boiling water instead. I did not trust that I got all the dirt off when I washed them before I boiled them.)
Wipe the top of the jars with a damp cloth.
Put on lids and screw bands.
Process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds, 30 minutes for pints and 35 minutes for quarts. (I corrected for elevation and used 11 pounds.)
Last year we pickled beets pretty much using the process by 4grandbabies. They were very good. Since we had a more this year, we decided to try to can them. I'll be interested to see how they actually turn out.
By the way, I also canned 8 pints of beet greens. Don't discard those greens. They are excellent. My wife prefers the greens to the beets.
Hope this helps
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- #6
jen4
Chillin' In The Garden
Thanks Ridgerunner...
Thats exactly how I did mine yesterday, but I had one problem... after I pressure cooked em they had lost ALOT of color, how do you keep em that dark pretty red? Maybe I didnt have the rings tight enough, I thought they were?
Thats exactly how I did mine yesterday, but I had one problem... after I pressure cooked em they had lost ALOT of color, how do you keep em that dark pretty red? Maybe I didnt have the rings tight enough, I thought they were?
I canned 10 pints jesterday of pickled ones. I use the two cups of water and vinger,add the pickling spice directly to this and bring to boil. I cook the beets till they are tender,slip the skins,pack in jars,fill with the vinger/spice solution ,cap and cold-pack process. They are a gourgeous dark red and I like the looks of the spices in the jars also. Can't wait till the next batch is ready!
Ridgerunner
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I lost some color too but not what I'd call a lot. I don't think beets swell when pressure canned like some things do. That's why you can go with a 1/2" gap insteadof 1". I think it is a combination of the air in the air gap expanding and forcing its way out, taking some color with it and the beets are not as hot as they should be when they go in the can. Since I have to slip the skins after they are cooked, I'm going to cool them first. If I reheat them before canning, I think just more color would cook out.
I'm not sure getting the rings super tight will help that much. The air will expand when it gets hot and will force its way out. If the rings are too tight, the can could break. I'm not an expert and could be wrong.
The variety you canned will have an effect on color. I canned two varieties, Detroit Red and I can't remember the other. The Detroit Red stayed a beautiful color. The other was faded before it went in the can. Next year I'm doing Detroit Red or maybe try Bull's Blood. The Detroit red really came out nice for me, both the beets themselves and the greens.
I'm not sure getting the rings super tight will help that much. The air will expand when it gets hot and will force its way out. If the rings are too tight, the can could break. I'm not an expert and could be wrong.
The variety you canned will have an effect on color. I canned two varieties, Detroit Red and I can't remember the other. The Detroit Red stayed a beautiful color. The other was faded before it went in the can. Next year I'm doing Detroit Red or maybe try Bull's Blood. The Detroit red really came out nice for me, both the beets themselves and the greens.
- Thread starter
- #9
jen4
Chillin' In The Garden
Thanks guys... cant wait to can some more!
4grandbabies
Deeply Rooted
I always choose Detroit Red beets. Dachsuns, I notice you did not add the 2 cups sugar to yours. I have never tried that..is that the way you always do them?
