Pickled beets are preserved in an acidic solution with spices and salt. Cooked beets are sliced and combined with the pickling mix before being stored in jars. Precautions should be taken to ensure proper sealing for extended shelf life.
Pickled beets are beets that have undergone a pickling process. Pickling preserves the beets, sometimes for an extended period of time, making the beets accessible during times of the year when fresh beets cannot be obtained. Some people simply enjoy the flavor of pickled beets, on their own or in salads. Many delicatessens carry pickled beets and can even be prepared at home.
When something is pickled, it is soaked in an acidic solution that helps prevent decay. Typically, spices are mixed into the pickling juice to create a distinctive flavor, which in the case of pickled beets is often tangy; Mustard seeds, bay leaves, and tarragon are common spices used to make pickled beets. The pickling mix also typically contains salt, which is a great preservative.
To prepare pickled beets, cooks must first cook the beets, as raw beets are not very palatable. The most common cooking method is steaming or boiling; typically beets are cooked whole, then peeled and sliced for pickling. It’s also perfectly acceptable to roast beets for pickling; some cooks prefer this technique, as it allows them to add flavor to the beets during the cooking process.
After cooking, the beets are allowed to cool briefly, then peeled so they can be sliced or julienned, depending on the cook’s taste. Sliced beets can then be combined with a pickling blend to create pickled beets; If pickled beets are to be kept on the shelf for an extended period of time, they should be briefly cooked with the pickling mixture immediately before canning, to ensure everything is brought to a safe temperature.
A common pickling mixture includes one cup of water, one cup of vinegar, one-half cup of sugar, two teaspoons of salt, several whole bay leaves, crushed mustard seeds, and cracked peppercorns. Ingredients such as raw flaked onions can also be mixed in. The beets are tossed with the pickling mix and then placed in jars that can either be heat sealed for extra shelf life or simply stored in the refrigerator, essentially allowing the beets to marinate for several days in the tangy pickling mix before being consumed.
If you plan to prepare beets for extended pickling, you should take a few precautions to ensure they hold. Be sure to wash your jars thoroughly, ideally by boiling them in water to remove any bacteria or other harmful organisms, and cook your pickling containers in a hot water bath to ensure they seal properly. Watch for lids that curl inward after the hot water bath, indicating a tight seal has been made, and discard any jars with lids that fold outward, indicating improper sealing and potential bacterial contamination .
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