Pickling Beets!

 Enoch has been wanting to get back to his parents' in Hyder for a while so he can help with projects and work on cleaning out some of the stuff he has stored out there. So we planned on the last week of April and made it happen.

I have to admit that Hyder isn't my favorite place partly because of the boredom factor. Since I don't shoot or tinker or like to 4 wheel, there isn't a whole lot to do. But when my mother in law called a few days before we went out to see if I'd like to pickle beets, I jumped on that project.

I have very distinct memories of my grandmother's pickled beets. She frequently would have a small bowl of them out as part of summer dinners at her home. I always thought they were good, although I know a lot of people avoided them--hence the small bowl. So for nostalgia and also quality purposes, I wanted to recreate this recipe.

I think pickled is a bit of a misnomer. If you think the beets end up tasting like pickled cucumbers, you're wrong. They are actually more of a sweet and sour flavor. Enoch quite likes them. Good thing because I ended up doing 36 pints. My mother in law had a large number of beets on hand, and they were large in size--like large grapefruit size. Perfect for pickling.

I'm really grateful I had my mother in law's help for the project. It's a lot of work, and a lot of mess, but made easier when there are two. They are messy, but the color is lovely.

In case any of my few readers would like the recipe for the syrup, here it is:

2 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
2 cups sugar

That's it! Boil the syrup on the stove, pour i over the sliced cooked and peeled beets that are in the jars, and then set them into a boiling water bath for 30 minutes to seal them.  Delicious!

And here is a bonus photo of the two cousins. They had a grand time. I think Asher has finally arrived at an age when he can enjoy Hyder and I don't have to worry about him as much. He could converse a lot more freely with Casey and he could explore and have more fun without getting into trouble because he understands so much more.

Poor Julia struggled more out there. She was feverish the whole weekend and not 100%, but she bounced back just in time to have two more teeth come through. Poor girl with the crazy teething all at once.