Preparing and Canning Pickles for Special Diets

No Sugar Added Pickled Beets

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

Yield: About 8 pints

Please read Using Boiling Water Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning.

Procedure:

	1.	Wash and rinse pint canning jars; keep hot until ready to use. Prepare lids according to manufacturer's directions.
	2.	Trim off beet tops, leaving 1 inch of stem and roots to prevent bleeding of color. Wash thoroughly. Sort for size. Cover similar sizes together with boiling water and cook until tender (about 25 to 30 minutes). Caution: Drain and discard liquid.
	3.	Cool beets. Trim off roots and stems and slip off skins. Slice into ¼-inch slices. Peel, wash and thinly slice onions.
	4.	Combine vinegar, salt, Splenda®, and fresh water in large Dutch oven. Tie cinnamon sticks and cloves in cheesecloth bag and add to vinegar mixture. Bring to a boil. Add beets and onions. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove spice bag.
	5.	With a slotted spoon, fill hot beets and onion slices into clean, hot pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Cover with boiling hot vinegar solution, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; apply two-piece metal canning lids.
	6.	Process in a boiling water canner according to the recommendations in Table 1. Let cool, undisturbed, 12 to 24 hours and check for seals.

Variation

Pickled whole baby beets - Follow the directions above but use beets that are no more than 1- to 1-½ inches in diameter. Pack whole after cooking, trimming and peeling; do not slice.

Trade and brand names are used only for information. The Cooperative Extension Service,
University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences and College of Family &
Consumer Sciences, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture do not guarantee nor warrant
published standards on any product mentioned; neither does the use of a trade or brand name
imply approval of any product to the exclusion of others which may also be suitable.

Developed at The University of Georgia, Athens, for the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Released by Elizabeth L. Andress, Ph.D., Department of Foods and Nutrition, College of Family and Consumer Sciences. July 2004.

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