No-Sugar-Added Pickled Beets

Gather

Ingredients

• 7 lbs of 2- to 2-½-inch diameter beets
• 4 to 6 onions (2- to 2-½-inch diameter), if desired
• 6 cups apple cider or white distilled vinegar (5%)
• 1-½ teaspoons canning or pickling salt
• 2 cups Splenda® (optional)
• 3 cups water
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 12 whole cloves

Preserve

Instructions

1. 01

   Trim the beet tops but keep 1 inch of stem and the roots attached. Wash and group by size. Submerge each group in boiling water; tenderness takes about 25 to 30 minutes. Throw away the cooking liquid.

2. 02

   Cool and peel the beets, remove stems and roots, and cut into ¼-inch slices. Thinly slice the optional onions. For whole baby pickles, begin with beets no larger than 1½ inches and leave them whole after peeling.

3. 03

   Put the cinnamon and cloves in a spice bag. Heat the 5% vinegar, salt, optional Splenda®, fresh water, and spice bag until bubbling. Stir in the beets and onions, keep at a gentle simmer for 5 minutes, and remove the bag.

4. 04

   Pack the hot vegetables into hot pint jars and cover with boiling vinegar liquid. Maintain ½-inch headspace, release air, clean the rims, and apply lids.

5. 05

   Boiling-water process pints for 30 minutes at 0-1,000 ft. Use the elevation tool to add the required time at higher elevations.
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