Beet Pickles
This is my mother's recipe. Mom's beet pickles were a regular
part of our family and company dinners. I remember one year when
my sister, Linda's, new boyfriend joined my family for Christmas dinner.
Mom proudly passed him the dish of beets. He served himself then
tried to pierce one with his fork. The round little beet slid off
of his plate and down the center of the dining room table, leaving a pink
trail of beet juice on the white table cloth.
Yield: four 1/2 pint jars
1 cup vinegar
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
2 cans of beets or 4 cups of fresh cooked beets, drained
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Combine all ingredients, except beets, in a saucepan and bring to
a boil. Add beets. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.
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Turn off the heat and let stand until cool enough to refrigerate.
Prepare at least two hours before serving - two or three days is even better.
Will keep for weeks in the refrigerator.
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Cooking Beets
from the Class Garden
Once harvested, wash the beets and cut off the tops (The tops of young
plants can be cooked or served fresh as greens). Place the beets
in a saucepan and cover with water. Cook on medium heat until they
are just fork tender. Allow to cool until they can be handled.
Cut off the top and root tips and the skins will slide right off.
This should be done while the beets are still warm.
If you plan to do this with your class, consider doing it outside and
make sure everyone is adequately covered. Working with beets is like
working with red dye.
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