Lessons in Canning 101 – Pickled Beets #FallHarvest with @DownshiftingPRO

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Canning Pickled Beets @DownshiftingPRO

So I was kind of bored this weekend.  I had decided that I did not need to go Michigan to watch my daughter’s last soccer tournament.  After all there had been quite a few trips this summer to soccer games and of course the awesome trip to Montreal for the FIFA semi-final game.  The weather did not look promising to be sitting outside for four games. In the cold. In the rain (the possibility was there).

Canning Pickled Beets @DownshiftingPRO

I decided to stay home with my son and catch up on things I had to do: finish a blog post about the end of the summer, do some laundry, watch a movie.  As it turned out, he had a friend over and ended up playing video games.  I was watching TV in the morning and was inspired by Pioneer Woman to make some Freezer Fundamentals to stock up for the fall and winter. O.K. maybe just the fall.

I hadn’t seen my mom for a few days so I decided to invite her over and asked her to help me make some spaghetti sauce.  It all turned out so delicious and we were so productive.  She had mentioned that there were all sorts of great deals to be had at the grocery store.  She came home with a huge bag of carrots and beets. Ten pounds of beets actually.

That, my friends is a lot of beets.

So many beets that we decided that on Sunday, we would pickle and can those beets. We only managed half the bag.

Oh vey… what were we thinking? It was 10 pounds of beets for goodness sake.

First of all I had to learn a few things about canning. I had never canned anything in my life.  I’d seen my mom can peaches and beets before but this was all new to me.

We had to pick up supplies.  That was our first hiccup.  Apparently,  there is a canning season and we had missed it.  In order to buy canning supplies, you need to purchase them in late July or early August.  Come mid-September and you are clearly going to be out-of-luck!  We ended up buying the jars at our local Goodwill but what we did not account for was trying to find the lids for said jars.  My mother managed to convince a very nice (older fellow) to search in the stock room at her local Canadian Tire for the lids.  Its a stock item he told her but if its not on the floor, you need to know where to look.  People ask for them in the dead of winter.  I know exactly where they are he told her.

Canning Pickled Beets @DownshiftingPRO

Once home we boiled the jars and the rims for 15 minutes.  You only have to place the lids in hot water for a bit before you seal the jars.  DO NOT BOIL THEM.  You want the rubber part to seal the jar, not melt before you place them on the jars. I learned this from asking for advice.  Since I knew next to nothing about canning, I asked my friends on Facebook about how I should sterilize the jars.  There were many opinions but I do have to share one with you if you don’t really like to boil the jars: from Older Mummy Still Yummy, she sterilizes her jars in the OVEN.  Genius when you think about it and much easier.

O.K. so here we go…

Canning Pickled Beets @DownshiftingPRO

How to Can Beets

Sterilize

12 pint or 8 quart jars and rims (see instructions above)

Heat (but do not boil) tops

Once sterilize set aside on a clean tea towel until you need the jars

Prep

Select 10 – 12 medium size beets

Trim stems and leave about 1 inch at the top

Boil for 15 minutes (or until tender)

Remove from heat and plunge in ice water to cool quickly

Peel away skins

Slice, quarter or cube beets

Mix in a saucepan

  • 1 quart mild vinegar (just under a litre)
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries
  • 1 stick of cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon whole cloves

Be prepared to have enough for a second batch.  We ended up making two batches of the pickling juice.

Add the beets to the saucepan and simmer for 12 minutes.  Pack the beets in the clean hot jars.  Fill the jars with the hot pickling juice. Put the tops and the rims on.  Tighten fairly well but not really tight.  In a pot filled with warm water, immerse the jars so that the water is covering them by an inch.  Bring to a boil.  Once they have boiled, reduce heat slightly and heat for 20-30 minutes (pints 20-25 minutes , quarts 30 minutes).  Turn off heat, set aside and remove jars once water has cooled then set aside for 24 hours before storing.  You will hear a pop as soon as you remove them from the water.  This is an indication that the seal has taken and it is safe to eat.  If for any reason the jar did not seal properly or the lid is convex (bumped up) instead of concave (with a dimple) the seal has not be successful.

Canning Pickled Beets @DownshiftingPRO

Canning does not have to be complicated but it is labour intensive and you have to be patient with the process.  I am really glad I did this.  I’m not sure I will be doing beets anytime soon but it has given me the courage to tackle this task.

Do you can anything?  What is your favourite canned good?

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Margarita Ibbott is a travel and lifestyle blogger. She blogs about travel in Canada, the United States and Europe giving practical advice through restaurant, hotel and attraction reviews. She writes for DownshiftingPRO.com and other online media outlets.

3 thoughts on “Lessons in Canning 101 – Pickled Beets #FallHarvest with @DownshiftingPRO”

  1. Those pickled beets look amazing! I think I may just have to give your recipe a try. Thanks so much for the shout out re: sterilizing jars in the oven.

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