Do you have to pickle beets to preserve them??

Question

I love cooked beets, but not pickled ones... must they be pickled to "jar"?

Answer 1

No, you can "can" them. Cook them like you normally would and then can them. I cut or slice them before I pack them away. I use the hot water canning method.

Aren't beets great!?! I love them pickled, but also just with a little butter or Harvard style.

Answer 2

Un-pickled beets can be home canned. However they must be pressure-canned. USDA classifies any food that has a pH of 4.6 or higher a low acid food. Beets have a pH of about 5.4 - 5.6 and are therefore considered a low acid food. All low acid foods need to be pressure-canned. Only high acid foods (pH 4.6 or lower) can be safely canned in a boiling-water canner. Go here for prep info and process time/pressure. Info is on page 4-6.
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/usda/utah_can_guide_04.pdf

Pickled beets can be processed in a boiling water canner IF the ratio of vinegar to water in the pickling juice is 1 to 1 or higher, i.e. the juice must be 50% or more vinegar. Bottled lemon or lime juice can be substituted for all or part of the vinegar. Here is a link for pickled beets, plus the boiling-water canner process times.
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_06/pickled_beets.html

Answer 3

Nope. You can homecan them just as they are. Check out a canning site or cookbook. (My mother canned beets every other year because it was one of the few vegies I could eat as a child.)