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Not your mama's beets...

... But they are my mama's beets.

Cinnamon Pickled Beets have been a family recipe for years.  I talked a little about my mom's beets in a previous post, but they have converted many folks who swear they do not eat beets.  People have been contacting her to ask if there are beets available yet.  (There are not.)  However, if you've got beets, you can have some cinnamon pickled ones from the comfort of your own kitchen!

Oddly, I am the holdout.  I love beets, but I'm the only one who's not obsessed with my mom's.  (Don't get me wrong - they're delicious - but I prefer my beets roasted.) Go figure.

Ingredients:
  • 4 pounds beets
  • 2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seed
  • 1 teaspoon whole allspice (NOT GROUND)
  • 1 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 3 cinnamon sticks, broken

The Process:

Wash and drain beets.  Leave 2 inches of stems and tap roots.

Cover with boiling water and cook until tender.  Remove peel; trim ends.  (My mom chops them into round, pickle-like pieces at this point, so as not to have whole beets in the jar.)

Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepot.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Add beets and cook until hot throughout.  Remove cinnamon sticks.

If you're not canning the beets, stop here.  If you are, continue. (If you've never canned before, I will talk about it in a future post, I promise.)

Pack hot beets into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.  Ladle hot pickling liquid over beets, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles.

Adjust two-piece caps.  Process 30 minutes in a boiling-water canner.  Yields about 4 pints.


Pro Tips:

The original recipe calls for 3 cups of very thinly sliced onions, boiled with the beets.  My mom says don't do this.  However, if you want to mix it up, that's your call!

If you're feeling Pennsylvania-ish, you can use a nearly-empty jar from these beets to make red beet eggs, a thing I didn't know existed until I met Karen.

You can double this recipe.  You can triple it.  Go hard.  If you've got beets, this recipe can use them up.  My mom regularly makes upward of 40 jars of beets at a time.

Don't forget to eat the greens in some other creative way!  (Saag paneer or pesto, anyone?)
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