On 2007-07-16, Melba's Jammin' > wrote:

> them in the washing machine along with the little cukes that are now

> All you pickled beet freaks, what's the texture of the beet supposed to
> be?

OK, who are you and what have you done with our beloved Melba!? :|

nb

On Jul 15, 10:30 pm, notbob > wrote:
> On 2007-07-16, Melba's Jammin' > wrote:
>
> > them in the washing machine along with the little cukes that are now
> > All you pickled beet freaks, what's the texture of the beet supposed to
> > be?
>
> OK, who are you and what have you done with our beloved Melba!? :|

ha! I was wondering that myself.

Pickled beets are so good on a rye crisp and liver pate, I think it's
the ultimate.

Fork tender is my vote, btw. I wish I knew how to make them like you
do...!!!

Karen

On 2007-07-16, Karen > wrote:
>
> Fork tender is my vote, btw. I wish I knew how to make them like you
> do...!!!

Pickled beets are the same texture/doneness as any other good beet.
Melba knows this.

Return our Mother!

nb

In article >,
notbob > wrote:

> On 2007-07-16, Karen > wrote:
> >
> > Fork tender is my vote, btw. I wish I knew how to make them like you
> > do...!!!
>
> Pickled beets are the same texture/doneness as any other good beet.
> Melba knows this.

Like THAT tells me anything.
Here's the funniest part I forgot to tell: I picked up the beets at a
local farmers market yesterday at 0800. I was in a rush and said, "I'll
take these, and these, and these, and these. Four bucks, right?" The
kid seller said, "Wow! That's a lot of beets! You must really like
them." I said I hated them but needed to make these for the Fair. He
just laughed. He laughed!

> Return our Mother!
> nb

<vbg> Send the ransom check to me and I'll make it happen. "-)

--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
I was in a rush and said, "I'll
> take these, and these, and these, and these. Four bucks, right?" The
> kid seller said, "Wow! That's a lot of beets! You must really like
> them." I said I hated them but needed to make these for the Fair. He
> just laughed. He laughed!


He probably thought you were joking.
He had *no idea* what a competitive wench you are when it comes to that
State Fair!

In article >,
Goomba38 > wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> I was in a rush and said, "I'll take these, and these, and these,
> and these. Four bucks, right?"
> > The kid seller said, "Wow! That's a lot of beets! You must really
> > like them." I said I hated them but needed to make these for the
> > Fair. He just laughed. He laughed!

> He probably thought you were joking.
> He had *no idea* what a competitive wench you are when it comes to that
> State Fair!

I think you're right about him not believing me. Maybe I'll bring him a
jar. . . .

Someday I'm gonna work at the Fair in the department where I
exhibit/compete -- intake and stuff like that. I'm not qualified to
judge and don't especially want to, but I'd REALLY like to see what goes
on when the judging is done. The judges are rarely identified publicly
and they don't let the "exhibitors" watch the judging. Drat!
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007

In article . com>,
Karen > wrote:

> On Jul 15, 10:30 pm, notbob > wrote:
> > On 2007-07-16, Melba's Jammin' > wrote:
> >
> > > them in the washing machine along with the little cukes that are now
> > > All you pickled beet freaks, what's the texture of the beet supposed to
> > > be?
> >
> > OK, who are you and what have you done with our beloved Melba!? :|
>
> ha! I was wondering that myself.
>
> Pickled beets are so good on a rye crisp and liver pate, I think it's
> the ultimate.

Sounds like the ultimate to me, too. Not in a good way.

>
> Fork tender is my vote, btw. I wish I knew how to make them like you
> do...!!!
>
> Karen

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.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007

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

In article . com>,
Karen > wrote:

> On Jul 16, 6:47 am, Melba's Jammin' >

> 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

You're not ezzackly encouraging my prospects for a ribbon, here, Karen.
Knockitoffwillya?

Jeez, I would HOPE there would be something more to the commercial ones
than a vinegar-sugar syrup.

Re the preserving part of it -- you can do the same with my corn relish
or bread & butter pickles or watermelon pickles. I had about 1-1/2
quarts of watermelon pickles in the fridge for a year once. Never got
around to canning them. Eventually I divided them into smaller jars for
gifts (not processed, advise to refrigerate)

Pickling spice usually has bay leaf, mustard seed, allspice, maybe
clove, maybe cinnamon, dill seed, maybe peppercorns, maybe other. Not
all equal proportions, though. Kind of generic flavoring blend for
pickled vegetables. Pickled fruits usually are done with sweet spices
only -- cinnamon, clove, allspice. No bay leaf. :-)
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007

In article >,
notbob > wrote:

> On 2007-07-16, Melba's Jammin' > wrote:
>
> > them in the washing machine along with the little cukes that are now
>
> > All you pickled beet freaks, what's the texture of the beet supposed to
> > be?
>
> OK, who are you and what have you done with our beloved Melba!? :|
>
> nb

<thrashes about from excessive vinegar fumes and waves hands wildly>
Here I am! Over here! Maybe next week I'll schedule an exorcism to
cleanse myself. I just showed the jars to Rob and we both laughed.
HE's not about to eat them, either.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
> <thrashes about from excessive vinegar fumes and waves hands wildly>
> Here I am! Over here! Maybe next week I'll schedule an exorcism to
> cleanse myself. I just showed the jars to Rob and we both laughed.
> HE's not about to eat them, either.

Send them here! I'll take them ALL!!! That's because I have
discerning taste, not like some people.

Dora

In article >,
Melba's Jammin' > wrote:

> I just showed the jars to Rob and we both laughed.
> HE's not about to eat them, either.

Hey, I've volunteered in the past ... :-)

sd