Spiced Pickled Beets - Monthly theme

 As promised earlier this month, here is the spiced pickled beets recipe.  The hardest thing about the recipe is cooking the beets and peeling them.  Beets will color your fingers, so grab a pair of gloves.  We have so many gloves around the house these days it was easier than usual this year to keep the purple at bay.

Spiced Pickled Beets (makes 4 pint jars)

3 pounds small fresh beets

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

2 cups cider vinegar

2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches)

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 teaspoon whole allspice

Directions

Scrub beets and trim tops to 1 in. Place in a Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until tender, 25-35 minutes. Remove from water; cool. Peel beets and cut into fourths.

Place beets in a Dutch oven. Add sugar, water and vinegar. Place spices on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with string to form a bag. Add to beet mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Discard spice bag.

Carefully pack beets into 4 hot 1-pint jars to within 1/2 in. of the top. Carefully ladle hot liquid over beets, leaving 1/2-in. head space. Remove air bubbles and adjust head space, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight.

Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 35 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

If you want to make your own pickles in the refrigerator, try our new DIY Refrigerator Pickle Kits