Pickled Candy Cane Beets
Easy recipe for canning any type of beets - with step-by-step instructions for DIY success: Pickled Candy Cane Beets.
I bought the big Ball canning pot with kit at our local Ace Hardware store a few summers ago. It's been used to can a few treats: Pickled Okra, Bread & Butter Pickles and Ginger Pear Preserves.
Why I didn't can....until now
But truth-be-told, I didn’t can a thing last summer. My excuse was that it was a long, hot, pregnant summer. (Baby #4 was born in September so I was BIG last summer.) But I think I just got too lazy to bring the big ol’ canner up from the basement. (However I know Mom and Grandma certainly didn’t stop canning while pregnant or because the canner was down a few steps!) So I promised myself that this summer I would can again.
And then my master gardener mother-in-law gave me all these beautiful candy cane baby beets.
They were perfect for The Recipe ReDux challenge of “Raising the Bar on Food in a Jar.”
The trick would be to maintain the absolutely gorgeous color of these striped beets. I searched for recipes and tips on how to maintain the red-and-white striped coloring. But unfortunately the striping disappears during cooking - but the jars do come out a gorgeous rose color as explained by Dig in the Dirt.
The best way to can beets
So, in the end, I used a delicious-sounding, trusted recipe from Ball's Blue Book Guide to Preserving. The only change I made was to add a few whole cloves. (I don't recommend changing the amount of sugar or acid in canning recipes; adaptations to recipes from a trusted source could be a recipe for a canning disaster!)
The best tip for pickled candy cane beets
I also made one other small recipe adaptation: I (maybe) cheated and added a few dark red baby beets to electrify the pink color in the jars. Even my girls announced "Mom, those beets are our favorite color! Pink!" (And then the two girls proceeded to have a small argument over who has had pink as their favorite color for longer!)
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Pickled Candy Cane Beets
- Yield: 6 pints 1x
Description
Easy recipe for canning any type of beets - with step-by-step instructions for DIY success.
Ingredients
- 3 quarts beets (about 24 small or 4 pounds)
- 2 cups sugar (minus about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 sticks cinnamon (broken in 3 pieces each)
- 1 tablespoon whole allspice
- 1 heaping teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 ½ teaspoon table salt (or 1 ½ teaspoon canning salt)
- 2 ½ cups white vinegar (or cider vinegar)
- 1 ½ cups water
Instructions
- Wash beets. Boil beets until just tender. Peel the beets using rubber dishwashing gloves to avoid getting beet-stained hands.
- Combine all ingredients except beets in a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer 15 minutes.
- Pack beets into hot jars, leaving ½-inch headspace.
- Ladle hot liquid over beets, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles.
- Adjust metal lid and rings. Process pints in a boiling water canner for 30 minutes.
Notes
Recipe adapted from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving which contains detailed instructions on how to can safely.
Have you done any canning before? What did you make – or what to you aspire to make some day?
Like your daughters, I love the pink beets, Serena. How nice to have a master gardener mother-in-law! Keep on canning. 🙂
Waiting for another podcast from the Meal Makeover Moms on canning! Loved the one last year where you visited your NH farmer buddy! Although I guess you did do the one on strawberry jam. That was a fun one...that canning machine sounds super fancy!
I've never seen candy cane beets -- so fun! I'm thinking these are a great way to get the kiddos to eat their beets! 🙂
I think candy cane beets are a little sweeter Danielle. I'm sure your kiddos would love. (Mine like them in a salad raw shredded w/ apples and carrots...but never roasted!)
These look delicious! I love beets, but I don't think I've tried them pickled before. The candy cane ones are so pretty. Thanks for the recipe!
I can't get enough beets either Annemarie! Thanks!
Love your photos. Gorgeous. Just learned about candy cane beets. They are sooo cute. It is a shame they don't keep their stripes once cooked. Your addition of cloves sounds like a great addition.
Except I hope that the beets aren't too clove-y a few months from now! Know what I mean? I'll report back! Next time I might take a few cloves out before putting in jars. We'll see what happens! (:
Love the beets!! I would love to can non-acidic foods but I think you need a pressure cooker canner and I still haven't opened the one I bought 10 years ago. I admit I am a terrible canner, I do mine in the microwave (don't ask but it does work) for small batches. This recipe looks foolproof and easy enough for me.
To answer your question on the peach pies, I bake them all in one large French White baking pan, no water needed and no lid. I wish I was near a farmers market, I would love those beets no matter what color they are.
Ha! I keep saying I need to can this summer... and summer is almost over! Love this idea for pickled beets, might try them this weekend!
I love pickled beets...and I have fond memories of my mom canning them. She used cloves in hers, too...yum!
Love the idea of candy cane beets! I know what you mean about trying to preserve colors in veggies...last summer I stumbled upon some gorgeous red "green" beans, but sadly the red color was gone after I cooked them 🙁 I have developed a love of beets as an adult-never liked them as a kids, but love them now. These look absolutely delicious!!
And the tricky thing is veggies don't come with instruction labels to preserve color...or disclaimer labels to tell you the color will fade!
Looks yummy! And your photography is gorgeous!
This looks just fabulous! I have only canned once but I definitely want to venture more into it!
looove beets. and what a treat for you to get some fresh from a garden! your recipe sounds delightful... a good reason to carry my own canning pot up a few stairs!
How many stairs Gretchen? (:
I've never actually pickled anything. And...I've never tried beets! We never ate them in my family growing up, no idea why not! I should probably try them before I become an RD...not sure if I could call myself a dietitian otherwise haha:)
Ha ha! Kylie I grew up never eating beets either...and by some magic, I still passed my RD exam! Love them now though! My kids like beets most ways but only 1 says she wants to be an RD!
So pretty and they sound delicious. I am so impressed you find the time to can anything with 4 kids! It sounds like you always use your cooking/blogging as a teaching platform for your kids. Remarkable!
That means a lot Diane. All I do is try. But they eat a lot of eggs for dinner...plus whatever I'm blogging about. Thus eggs and pickled beets was dinner the other night. Tonight it was eggs and corn on the cob...stay tuned... (:
Yum! Love beets and these are so pretty! Totally agree with your statement: "adaptations to recipes from a trusted source could be a recipe for a canning disaster" - I'd leave out the canning and expand to other foods (like mousse) too! Lol!
Oh my goodness, so funny Jessica. Like I said, I was so glad you posted about your sorta #fail recipe this month! It made me laugh!
This is a fun way to can beets. I have not ever canned beets. I love the added spices Yum! The colors turned out so pretty. 🙂
...This makes me want to conquer my fear of canning! 🙂
This recipe makes me want to overcome my fear of canning! 🙂
You can do it Nancy!! Another tip is to wear insulated rubber gloves (like you use for washing dishes) while working around the hot water. I still do that and it makes me feel less timid!
The jars look so colorful and amazing! Love jarred beets, miam miam!
Even though those cutie pie stripes are gone, the beets still look awesome! Pickling them might actually get me to like them...
As I said, pink makes all the difference Joanne! Wish I could send you some Joanne!
I WISH my beets had grown this year (darn bunnies!), this is precisely the type of thing my mom and grandma love to eat (I prefer mine raw!)