On Jul 16, 6:47 am, Melba's Jammin' >
wrote:
> What part are you struggling with, Karen? Here's the recipe I was sort
> of following:
>
> Pickled Boiled Dirt Chunks 2007
> Barb Schaller adapted from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
>
> 3 tbsp mixed pickling spices
> 2-1/2 cups vinegar
> 1 cup water
> 1 cup sugar
> 10 cups prepared beets (I had about 2 quarts)
>
> (I added about 6 whole cloves and a broken up short stick of cinnamon to
> the mixture, too. What the heck.)
>
> Put the spices into a spice bag. (More about that later.) Bring to
> boil then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes to "infuse the
> vinegar". Add cooked and peeled beets to the mixture, heat through,
> jar, cover, and process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes. Use a
> slotted spoon to fill the jars, then pour the boiling syrup over.
>
> Here's the deal: You don't *have* to process these things if you just
> put them in a clean jar and stick them in the fridge. I'm willing to
> say they will last for-nearly-ever in the fridge. Just to contain the
> spit-on-the-fork-causes-spoilage factor, put them into more than one jar
> -- pint size is probably good. I had about 35 golf ball-ish size cooked
> beets that I'd quartered.
>
> About the spice bag (I used cheesecloth). If I were to do this again, I
> wouldn't bother with the bag but would strain the liquid to remove the
> spices before adding the beets to the liquid to heat.

The jarred sliced pickled beets don't seem to have "pickling spices"
in them, do they? It must be just sugar and vinegar in the store-
bought kind? I will have to check the label next time. What are
pickling spices, anyway? (obviously, pickling is foreign territory for
me!...)

I never thought of making pickled beets without preserving them. It's
not as intimidating that way.

I've never seen quartered pickled beets. That sounds like a good bite
for in a salad!

Karen