And The Winner Is Beets
My entire family loves pickled beets so last summer i prepared 4 different batches & ran a contest. The slight heat from the chilies made this recipe the unanimous winner - in fact, my daughter hides her jars from the kids. It will be the only recipe that i use from now on!!
Steps
Scrub beets , leaving root end& about 1 / 2 inch of the stem.
Rinse in clean water several times to make sure that all garden dirt has been removed.
In a large pot of boiling , salted water , cook beets just until tender.
Drain , reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
Refresh beets under cold water , slip off skins& snip off any root end remains.
Slice beets& set aside.
Meanwhile , in a very large stainless steel or enamel pot , stir together sugar , vinegar , water , reserved cooking liquid& salt.
Tie pickling spice& chilies in a double thickness of cheesecloth& add to pan.
Heat almost to boiling , stirring often until sugar is dissolved.
Add beets , return to boil& boil for 5 minutes , stirring often to distribute the spice flavour.
Remove spice bag.
Pack beets into sterilized canning jars to within 3 / 4 inch of rim.
Pour in boiling pickling liquid , leaving 1 / 2 inch of headspace.
Insert a chop stick or long narrow plastic spatula along the sides of the jars to rele.
Ingredients
beets, granulated sugar, white vinegar, water, broth, salt, whole mixed pickling spices, dried chilies