Best Pickled Beets Recipe

Pickled Beets
Pickled Beets

I so love pickled beets.  They are something I grew up with and I make them every year.  It’s a bit of a messy job but, oh, are the results so worth it!  I look upon these as vegetable candy!

Pickled beets are really nothing more than cooked beets bottled with a vinegar-sugar-spice syrup. That’s it.

For pickling, I recommend cylinder beets if you can get them. They are long and slender and slice nicely for fitting in to the jars and also for presentation.  Regular ball beets can, of course, be used for pickling and, in fact, that’s all my grandmothers would have used – just the regular garden variety.  However, some of the round beets grow quite large and the slices have to be cut into two or three pieces to get them to fit in the jars and they don’t look quite as nice for presentation….same great taste, though.

Beets take awhile to cook so patience is required for this exercise.  Try to select uniformly-sized ones so they all cook at the same rate. However, if you have a mixture of sizes, place the larger ones in the bottom of the pot and the smaller ones on top.

Don’t peel the beets before they are cooked. Simply remove the leaves, leaving about 1″ stem and the root end intact.  Removing the stem or root end will cause bleeding and the vegetable will lose its vibrant color during the cooking process. The stem ends get removed after cooking and the beets get peeled after they are cooked. In fact, the skins will usually just slip off the cooked beets.

Because these vegetables are a bit messy to deal with, I use a portable burner and cook them outside so there is less chance of beet-spattered walls and counter in my kitchen. They do stain surfaces. I add a couple of teaspoons of cooking oil to the water in which the beets are cooked as I find it helps to prevent them from boiling over.

When the beets are starting to get along with their cooking, start the syrup to cook in a separate smaller stockpot.  The syrup should cook for about 18-20 minutes at a slow boil.  Don’t boil it too rapidly or for too long as it will evaporate and there won’t be enough syrup to fill the jars. This means more syrup has to be made and the syrup needs to go over the hot beets so timing is everything. For instructions on how to make the spice sachet used in the syrup, visit my posting on making mustard pickles. I also recommend that pickling vinegar be used. It will usually have 7% acidity, making it stronger than table vinegar and will help to preserve the beets longer.

You can give the cooked beets a quick rinse under cold running water. It does make them a bit easier to handle. However, they have to be bottled hot so don’t over-do the rinsing. I recommend slicing the hot beets about 1/4″ thick. Pack them well into the hot sterilized jars, leaving about 1″ headroom. Ladle the hot syrup into the filled jars, filling each jar with the syrup to within 1/4″ from the top. Use a non-metal object to remove any air bubbles that may have formed in the jars and add more syrup, if necessary, to fill up the jars to about 1/4″ from the tops. Seal with heated lids and screw on the jar bands just until resistance is met.  For greatest food safety, it is recommended that the filled jars be processed in a hot water bath following your canner manufacturer’s directions for your local altitude.

Traditional PEI Christmas Dinner
Pickled Beets with Roast Turkey Dinner

We enjoy these tasty morsels with cooked dinners such as the traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey dinners as well as with roast beef or pork dinners. They are also good served with cold meats.

Beets
Pickled Beets

[Printable Recipe follows at end of posting]

Best Pickled Beets

 Ingredients:

5 lbs cylinder beets, stem and root ends intact
Boiling water
2 tsp cooking oil

2¾ cups brown sugar
2¾ cups pickling vinegar
1 cup + 3 tbsp water
2¾ tsp pickling spice, tied into a small cheesecloth sachet
2 – 6” cinnamon sticks
¼ tsp salt

Method:
Remove the leaves from the beets, leaving about 1” stem in place.  Rinse under cold water to remove any clay.  In very large stock pot, place the larger beets on the bottom, then the smaller ones. Cover the beets with boiling water and add 2 tsp cooking oil.  Cover and cook over medium-high heat until beets are fork tender.

As beets are nearing the cooked stage, begin making the syrup by combining the sugar, vinegar, water, pickling spice sachet, cinnamon sticks, and salt into a small stockpot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium low and boil, uncovered, slowly for approximately 15-18 minutes.

Remove cooked beets from water, rinse quickly under cold water, peel, and remove and discard stem and root ends. Slice hot beets into ¼” thick slices and pack into sterilized jars, leaving 1” headroom.

Remove and discard the pickling spice sachet and cinnamon sticks from the syrup.  Ladle hot syrup over beets leaving ¼“ headroom.  Using a non-metal object, remove any air bubbles from the jars and add more syrup as necessary to fill jars to about ¼“ from the top. Wipe each jar rim clean with a damp cloth. Seal immediately with heated lids. Screw on jar bands just until resistance is met.

Process filled jars in hot water bath according to canner manufacturer’s directions for the proper time for your local altitude.

Yield:  Apx. 6 pints

For more of my pickle and chow recipes, follow these links:
Mustard Pickles
Bread and Butter Pickles
Green Tomato Chow
Mustard Beans
Dill Pickles

Best Pickled Beets Recipe

Yield: Apx 6 pints

These tasty sweet pickled beets are easy to make, showy in presentation, and are a fine accompaniment to many meals. A Prince Edward Island favorite.

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs cylinder beets, stem and root ends intact
  • Boiling water
  • 2 tsp cooking oil
  • 2¾ cups brown sugar
  • 2¾ cups pickling vinegar
  • 1 cup + 3 tbsp water
  • 2¾ tsp pickling spice, tied into a small cheesecloth sachet
  • 2 – 6” cinnamon sticks
  • ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Remove the leaves from the beets, leaving about 1” stem in place. Rinse under cold water to remove any clay. In very large stock pot, place the larger beets on the bottom, then the smaller ones. Cover the beets with boiling water and add 2 tsp cooking oil. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until beets are fork tender.
  2. As beets are nearing the cooked stage, begin making the syrup by combining the sugar, vinegar, water, pickling spice sachet, cinnamon sticks, and salt into a small stockpot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and boil, uncovered, slowly for approximately 15-18 minutes.
  3. Remove cooked beets from water, rinse quickly under cold water, peel, and remove and discard stem and root ends. Slice hot beets into ¼” thick slices and pack into sterilized jars, leaving 1” headroom.
  4. Remove and discard the pickling spice sachet and cinnamon sticks from the syrup. Ladle hot syrup over beets leaving ¼“ headroom. Using a non-metal object, remove any air bubbles from the jars and add more syrup as necessary to fill jars to about ¼“ from the top. Wipe each jar rim with a damp cloth. Seal immediately with heated lids. Screw on jar bands just until resistance is met.
  5. Process filled jars in hot water bath according to canner manufacturer’s directions for the proper time for your local altitude.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes
https://myislandbistrokitchen.com/2016/09/11/best-pickled-beets-recipe/

Pin Me to Pinterest!

Beets
Pickled Beets
Pickled Beets
Pickled Beets

Blueberry Lemonade Recipe

Lemonade
Blueberry Lemonade

Lemonade is a wonderful refreshing drink on a hot summer’s day.  Sometimes I like just plain old-fashioned lemonade and, other times, I like to flavor it using whatever berries are currently in season.  My latest lemonade creation uses high bush blueberries to make blueberry lemonade concentrate.  Fill a glass about one third full of the concentrate and top it up with lemon-lime soda for a tasty drink. You can, of course, top up the concentrate with lemon-flavored sparkling water instead of the soda.

Lemonade
Blueberry Lemonade

This recipe begins with a simple syrup which is infused with freshly squeezed lemon juice, grated lemon rind, and blueberry purée.

I am sometimes asked if it is necessary to use a simple syrup when making lemonade.  In my view, it is essential and here is why.  Ever try dissolving sugar in cold liquid?  If you have, then you know the difficulty in getting the sugar to completely dissolve. Stir, stir, stir or shake, shake, shake and the sugar just does not want to completely dissolve and the mixture will appear cloudy. This is because sugar is not very soluble in cold liquid.  At some point, you may have experienced a drink that had a nasty gritty sugar taste and texture and you may have noticed some undissolved sugar that fell  to the bottom of the glass.  This would have been the result of sugar mixed with cold liquid.

Lemonade is meant to be a bit tart but it does need some sugar to sweeten it a bit.  So, how do you get the sugar successfully incorporated into the lemonade?  It’s simple – you make a simple syrup. And, it’s called simple for a reason.

Simple syrup is nothing more than water and sugar heated until the sugar is perfectly dissolved.  There are various formulas for simple syrup, depending on how thick you want the syrup and for what purpose it will be used. I tend to use 3/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water for simple syrups for beverages.  My preference is to use super-fine sugar (aka caster sugar) because its fine texture means it dissolves easier than standard granulated sugar. Simply combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat over medium heat to the boiling point, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved.  Let the syrup boil gently for about 3-4 minutes, reducing the heat if necessary so the mixture does not boil too rapidly.  Don’t boil the mixture rapidly or leave the liquid on the heat too long because you’ll lose some to evaporation.  Remove the liquid from the heat and let it cool for about 30-40 minutes before adding any additional ingredients such as lemon juice, lemon rind, or puréed berries. Easy-peasy! And, you will have a much more refined drink that has a smooth, silky, velvet-like finish than you will get by trying to dissolve the sugar in cold water. It’s all about the quality in the end result.

Lemonade
Blueberry Lemonade

I used about 6 oz of high bush blueberries (the really nice big berries like the ones in the photo below) for this recipe and, with my potato masher, I loosely broke up the berries.

Blueberries
High Bush Blueberries

By gently mashing the berries, their juices get released quicker when they are heated. The  berries were combined with 2/3 cup of water and cooked over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, just until they were softened and their juices were extracted.  The mixture was cooled for about 30 minutes then puréed with an immersion blender.  I added the blueberries, lemon juice, and lemon rind to the cooled simple syrup and let it sit for a couple of hours so the flavors would infuse the syrup.

To get the smooth liquid,  strain the cooled mixture through a very fine mesh sieve twice to remove the pulp.

This concentrate will keep in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for three to four days.

Lemonade
Blueberry Lemonade

[printable recipe follows at end of posting]

Blueberry Lemonade

Ingredients:
1 cup water
¾ cup super-fine sugar (aka caster sugar)

½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 – 2 tbsp grated lemon rind

6 oz high bush blueberries
2/3 cup water

Method:

For the simple syrup:  In small saucepan, combine the water and sugar together.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely dissolved.  Reduce heat slightly and boil gently for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and cool to room temperature (apx. 30-40 minutes).

For the blueberry purée: In pie plate, gently mash the berries with a potato masher to release their juices.  Combine the berries and 2/3 cup water in a saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for approximately 5-7 minutes, or until berries are softened and the mixture is quite juicy.  Remove from heat and cool for about 30 minutes. Purée the berry mixture in a blender or with an immersion blender.

For the lemonade concentrate: Add the lemon juice, lemon rind, and puréed berry mixture to the cooled simple syrup.  Stir well to fully combine the ingredients.  Let mixture stand for at least an hour (or up to three hours) to allow the flavors to blend.  Strain mixture twice through a fine mesh sieve to remove the pulp.  Discard the pulp and pour concentrate into a bottle.  Cover tightly and store in refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

To serve:  Fill a glass approximately one-third full of lemonade concentrate.  Top up with lemon-lime soda or lemon-flavored sparkling water.  Add ice cubes. Garnish with a lemon wheel, a sprig of lemon balm, and fresh blueberries, if desired.

Yield:  Approximately 2 cups concentrate

Lemonade
Blueberry Lemonade

 

Blueberry Lemonade

Yield: Apx. 2 cups concentrate

This lemonade combines two complementary flavors to make a delightfully tasty and refreshing drink for a hot summer's day.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • ¾ cup super-fine sugar (aka caster sugar)
  • ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 – 2 tbsp grated lemon rind
  • 6 oz high bush blueberries
  • 2/3 cup water

Instructions

  1. For the simple syrup: In small saucepan, combine the water and sugar together. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely dissolved. Reduce heat slightly and boil gently for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature (apx. 30-40 minutes).
  2. For the blueberry purée: In pie plate, gently mash the berries with a potato masher to release their juices. Combine the berries and 2/3 cup water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for approximately 5-7 minutes, or until berries are softened and the mixture is quite juicy. Remove from heat and cool for about 30 minutes. Purée the berry mixture in a blender or with an immersion blender.
  3. For the lemonade concentrate: Add the lemon juice, lemon rind, and puréed berry mixture to the cooled simple syrup. Stir well to fully combine the ingredients. Let mixture stand for at least an hour (or up to three hours) to allow the flavors to blend. Strain mixture twice through a fine mesh sieve to remove the pulp. Discard the pulp and pour concentrate into a bottle. Cover tightly and store in refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
  4. To serve: Fill a glass approximately one-third full of lemonade concentrate. Top up with lemon-lime soda or lemon-flavored sparkling water. Add ice cubes. Garnish with a lemon wheel, a sprig of lemon balm, and fresh blueberries, if desired.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes
https://myislandbistrokitchen.com/2016/09/04/blueberry-lemonade/

For other great lemonade drink recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen, click on the links below:

Lemonade
Strawberry Lemonade
Rhubarb Lemonade

Pin Me to Pinterest!

Lemonade
Blueberry Lemonade

 

Lemonade
Blueberry Lemonade