Pickled Beets

MAKES: One 1-qt (1L) jar

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs (0.9kg) baby red beets
• 1 cup (237mL) cider vinegar
• 1 cup (237mL) water
• ½ cup (100g) sugar
• ½ cup (64g) thinly sliced red onion
• 2 thin slices peeled fresh horseradish
• 1 ½ tsp (7.5g) salt
• 1 ¼ tsp (6g) black peppercorns
• 2 cloves
• 1 bay leaf

STEPS:

1. Peel the beets and remove the greens, but leave the root ends intact. Boil them in a large pot of salted water until just tender, about 30 minutes. Drain.
2. Bring the vinegar, water, sugar, onion, horseradish, salt, peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaf to a boil in a saucepan. Continue to boil until the sugar and salt have dissolved, about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Trim any straggling roots. Place in a sterilized 1-quart container.
4. Fish out the cloves, bay leaf, and horseradish as well as most of the peppercorns from the brine, and transfer them to the jar with the beets. If the brine has cooled, reheat it, then pour the hot liquid over the beets to cover. You may not use all of the brine.
5. Close the jar tightly and leave to cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for 3 days before using. They keep for several months.

DATE I FIRST TRIED IT: 11 August 2019

PERSONAL RATING: 5 out of 5 stars!