Beet Preservation

Wash and sort according to size. Leave tap root on.
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil and add a beets.
Cover and cook for until tender (20-30 minutes depending on beet size).
Remove from water and cool. Once cooled, remove the peel from the beets. Boiling the beets loosens the peel and you can easily slide it off with your fingers. If you don’t want to have red hands for the next week, we recommend putting on a pair of latex gloves before doing this step.
Cut into rounds or chunks and spread on a baking sheet. Freeze for about an hour.
Once the beets have firmed up in the freezer, transfer them to one or more resealable freezer bags/containers, label and date them, and freeze for 12-18 months.

Frozen beets are perfect for adding to soups and stews, or reheated in a saucepan as a simple and delicious side dish.

If your oven doesn’t go below 200 degrees, you might want to leave the door open a crack to prevent the beets from getting too hot and burning.

Wash beets thoroughly.
Cook in boiling water until tender (20-30 min depending on beet size) Remove from boiling water and cool in a bowl of ice water.
Cut beets into 1-inch strips or slices.
Dry at 140 degrees F (60°C) in an oven or dehydrator.
If necessary, turn large pieces over every 3 to 4 hours during the drying period.
Dry for 10-12 hours in a dehydrator (may take 20-24 hours in a conventional oven). Dried beets should be brittle and dark red.
Allow to cool completely before storing. Properly stored, dried beets keep well for 6 – 12 months.

So your beets are dried… now what?
Store in an airtight container and reconstitute by adding to soups and stews or dipping in hot water. If you’ve pre-seasoned the beets, they can be eaten ‘as is’ as a healthy, crunchy, snack.

We always recommend processing pickles in a boiling water canner to ensure the safety of your preserved food.

Do your boiling water canner prep work (see under Pickling + Fermenting on our preservation page)
Wash and sort according to size. Leave tap root on.
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil and add a beets.
Cover and cook for until tender (20-30 minutes depending on beet size).
Remove from water and cool. Once cooled, remove the peel from the beets. Boiling the beets loosens the peel and you can easily slide it off with your fingers. If you don’t want to have red hands for the next week, we recommend putting on a pair of latex gloves before doing this step.
Cut into rounds or chunks.
Combine brine ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for 5min.
Fill half-pint or pint jars with beets and pour hot pickling solution into each jar leaving a 1/2 inch of headroom.
Place in boiling water canner and boil for 10 minutes.
Remove jars from the canner with tongs and allow to cool at room temperature.
Do a little happy dance with each pop of the seal that you hear.
Wait 10-14 days before opening pickles. Once pickled, sealed jars are kept in a cool dark place and will last 12 months. Once opened, a jar will last for 2+ weeks in the fridge.

Not into water bath canning? You can turn these into quick pickles simply by cooking the beets, cutting them into slices, jarring them with pickle brine, and putting the jar in the fridge after cooling. Quick pickled beets are good in the fridge for up to six weeks.

Prepare your pressure canner equipment as per the guidelines stated in your pressure canning manual.
Wash and sort according to size.
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil and add a beets.
Cover and cook for until skins slip off easily (15-20min).
Cool just enough to handle without burning yourself, then remove skins, and trim off stems and roots. The beets should remain warm or hot going into the jars.
Cut into rounds or chunks while boiling a fresh pot of water.
Fill jars with hot beets, and add fresh boiling water, leaving one inch of headspace.
Remove air bubbles and add more water if needed. Ensure beets are covered by water and that there is still one inch of headspace at the top of the jar.
Wipe rims with clean, wet paper towel then place lids on jars and add screw bands. Screw the bands down fingertip tight- not too loose nor too tight. Follow lid manufacturer’s directions for tightening the jar lids properly.
Place filled jars, fitted with lids and ring bands, on the jar rack in the canner, and follow canner manufacturer’s instructions for processing heats, pressure, and times.
Once cool, remove the screw bands and check the seal. If any jars did not seal, treat the food as ‘fresh’ by either eating the food immediately, refrigerating for use within a week, freezing, or recanning (If recanned, you must repeat the entire process.)
Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place, where there is no danger of freezing.