Pickled Beets and Beet Jelly

Beets were an after thought with my garden this year.  I had given up on root vegetables because it always seemed that the moles would push them up and out as they made their tunnels each year in my garden.  But I was at Walmart and saw beet seeds for a $1 a package and said, what the heck, for a buck I will give it a try again.  
 
On Friday I went to my garden and knew it was time to pick the beets.  They had survived the moles and I was curious to see how much I would get.  I picked them all and after they were cleaned up and the tops taken off, I weighed them...  and there were 15lbs!  I was pretty happy! :)  





 
So I pulled out my recipe for pickled beets and got to work.   I cooked them up in my big canner pot because they would not fit in any other pot I had.  When they were done cooking (about 25 minutes) I drained them (saving the beet juice) and ran them under cold water while I cut off the ends, slipped off the peels, and sliced them into a bowl.  I made the brine and put the beets and 2 sliced onions in the brine.   
 
I heated it all up and canned up my beets.  I ended up with 12 pints. 















But I was not done with beets.. well I was for that day because it was nearly 11:00pm.. So I put my beet juice in the fridge.  On Sunday evening I was finally able to get around to making beet jelly with the leftover juice (you know I just don't like to throw usable things away! :).  Beet jelly is really more of a novelty than a necessary staple in the pantry.  It is easy to make and my kids enjoy it as a break for other types of jams and jellies that I make.  It is made with beet juice, sugar, pectin and package of raspberry kool-aide.  All I could find at the store was strawberry so I used that instead.  I have heard of people using cherry as well.  I saved enough beet juice to make 3 batches.  I ended up with 18- 1/2 pints of beet jelly.  

All in all I would say it was pretty good from one little package of seed!  I will be trying this again next year. 

Here are the recipes..


Pickled Beets
12 to 15lbs beets with tops on
8 cups apple cider vinegar
4 cups sugar
4 cups water
1/2 cup salt
4 cinnamon sticks
1 t whole cloves 
2 large onions, sliced

Wash, cook, peel and slice the beets.  If you leave the tops on the beets while they cook the color won't bleed out. To cook the beets, cover them in water, bring to a boil and let them cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until fork tender.

In a large pot (mine is a 14qt pot) combine the vinegar, sugar, water, and salt.  Tie the spices in a spice bag and put those in the brine.  Bring the brine to a boil. Add the cooked and sliced beets and the sliced onion to the brine.  Bring it back to a boil and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. 

Fill pint jars with beets and brine leaving a 1/2 inch head space. Put a brand new lid on the jar and a ring and tighten this down.  Put the jars in a boiling water bath canner and can for 30 minutes.  Should make about 12 pints


Beet Jelly
3 cups beet juice
4t lemon juice
1 box powdered pectin
4 cups sugar
1 small pkg raspberry Kool-aid

Begin by measuring your sugar and putting this in a bowl. Open the packet of Kool-aid and stir it into the sugar.  Then, in a 6qt pot combine beet juice, lemon juice and pectin. Bring this to a full boil. A full boil is one that cannot be stirred down.  After it has come to a boil then add your sugar.  Stir and bring back to a full boil again.  Boil and stir for 1 minute (check your package of pectin, if it says to cook it longer than a minute then you would need to. I use Sure Jel brand and it only takes 1 minute).  Quickly ladle the jelly into 1/2 pint jars.  Put a new lid on and a ring..  Put the jars in a boiling water bath canner and can for 5 minutes.  Makes 5 to 6 1/2 pints of jelly.

Comments

  1. Mmmmm, we love pickled beets, I canned 12 pints this year, we use them when we make pickled eggs.

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  2. My beets did well this year but I've never heard of beet jelly. What does it taste like?

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    Replies
    1. mcquiston@zoominternet.netAugust 8, 2013 at 7:40 AM

      you can also use jello in place of the koolaid in my recipe

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    2. beet jelly mostly tastes like a grape jelly however you can use different flavored Kool-Aid or jello powder such as lime or raspberry or cherry and it gives a slightly different flavor. Very delicious

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    3. Where does the beet juice come from? When you first cook them?

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  3. I make some p. beet today have leftover juice about enough to make the fews jars of the jelly thanks for sharing your recipe.

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  4. You can further your gain from that pack of seeds by eating the tops. Cook them like you would any greens. Beet greens look prettier than standard greens because the stems are often red or tinged with red so it adds a wonderful contrast.

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  5. I considered eating the greens, but it was not something my kids were to excited about.. cooked greens is not something we typically eat.. so the goats got all the greens and they sure loved them! LOL.. :)

    The jelly tastes sweet and good! You can taste the koolaid flavor and a little beet flavor.. it is worth the time to make a batch and see what you think!!! :)

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  6. Good afternoon~

    I would love to try and make your jelly recipe. It looks pretty easy! I love to can and was looking for another recipe.

    Blessings~
    Laura

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  7. made a small batch of the beet jelly and it is phenomenal. For those who don't want huge batches, this recipe does really well halved! Thanks!

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  8. Good Morning,
    I use Raspberry Jello and it taste like the ole time REX jelly from back when I was a kid.
    MeMe

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  9. I HAVE FOUND BEETS TO BE ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS IN THE GRDEN TO CAN.BUT I HAVE NEVER HEARED OF PUTTING AN ONION IN THEM,AND HAVE NEVER HEARED OF BEET JELLY.THIS IS HOW I CAN BEETS YOU MAY WANT TO TRY IT AFTER PEELING THE BEETS I MIX HALF VINEGAR AND WATER THEN ADD SUGAR TO TASTE THEN ADD PICKLING SPICE.COOK COMPKETELY THEN PUT IN JARS AND SEAL.

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  10. I make a similar recipe in the winter using the beets and the juice. (I have such a large garden that it's impossible for me to make the jelly at harvest time as there is just too many veggies to get done up!) I take a quart bag of frozen beets and thaw them, put them and the juice they've produced in the food processor or blender and puree them. I use 2 cups of the beet "pulp" and one cup of water, 1 pack of sure jell, 4 cups of sugar, 1/3 cup of lemon juice and 1 box of grape jello. It's the best "grape" jelly I've ever had!

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  11. I made beet juice jelly using grape jello, but my jelly didn't thicken enough, its still runny,what do you suggest.

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    1. Just pour it into a pot and boil it a while (maybe 30 minutes). It will reduce some but should turn out fine then. Put it right back in the same jars, no need to wash ,etc

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  12. Can I use beet juice that's been mixed with vins get?

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    1. vins get? hmmm.. not sure.. if you mean vinegar.. then no, that would not work.. :)

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  13. how do you get the beet juice? I am assuming by boiling beets, but then what do you do with the beets

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    1. Anon... you boil the beets.. drain the water they were boiled in and save it.. this is your beet juice.. the beets are used for pickled beets.. both recipes are in this blog post..

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  14. I love beets and they love me. They contain glutamic acid that helps our brain waves work properly. I like to peel my beets, shred them, cook them in some water then pack them into small freezer bags and freeze for later use as a vegetable or in chocolate cake. The water left behind can also be used in your jello recipes. For those who have not tried the leaves, there are many recipes. Sauté in butter, boil and serve with butter salt and pepper and your choice of vinegar or lemon juice sprinkled over it. I prefer the lemon. A friend makes beet leaf rolls. I'm a bit lazy so I skip the bread, cut up the leaves, boil them and serve with fried onions and sour cream. Or you can make a cream soup with them. Beets really are brain food. Eat and enjoy.

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  15. Tried beet jelly for first time last week. Delish!! I love beets.

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  16. can you use the juice from can beets?

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    1. hmmm... not sure about that. I've never tried it.. so I can't really say if that would work. I think most veggies have salt added? not sure, I don't buy a lot of canned veggies. I know you could buy fresh beets and do this..

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  17. Can I use the liquid pectin? How much?

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  18. I've never used liquid pectin. I would Google how much liquid pectin is equal to the powdered. I'm pretty sure it would work fine. Crystal

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  19. I'm so excited to try this recipe for a unique Christmas gift. I have lots of Jello. How much do I add if inise Jello to the recipe vs. Kool-Aid?

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    1. Hi Lisa, This does make great Christmas gifts, I've done that in the past... I've never made it with Jello so I don't have any idea how much you would use. Crystal :)

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  20. try grape kool aid; been making this for years. Tastes just like Welch's grape jelly . It is delicious. Growing up my kids never knew it was made with beet juice !

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