100 year old pickled beets recipe, pickled beets recipe, miracle food, diet aid, fat melter, lower your blood pressure naturally

Pickled beets.  Jimmy and I have had many discussions around this humble vegetable. I grew up eating my grandmothers pickled beets from a simple recipe taught to her by her mother. So, I love them. Jimmy grew up with an occasional offering of pickled beets which were commercially produced. He hated them. Notice I used the past tense?  It took me years to get him past  "EEEWWWWW beets are gross! They taste like dirt!".  He wouldn't take so much as an experimental bite.  He finally cracked and took a taste and now he's hooked.   I will be the first one to admit that commercially produced pickled beets are indeed gross. Commercial  picklers want a product instantly. Thier process.... cook 'em...add some vinegar.... throw 'em in a can... sell 'em...is right up there with Thunderbird 'fortified' wine in the nasty categories.   Home canned beets on the other hand take a good 4-5 months to cure.  3 months  at the minimum.  But the benefits are are amazing.  Once a beet has cured properly the taste changes significantly.  And beets are the miracle food everyone is looking for. Adding  pickled beets to your diet on a regular basis will cut cholesterol, give you beautiful skin, lower your blood pressure (one of THE  best natural remedies for high blood pressure out there) and keep you skinny.  Ever wonder how our grandparents ate fried foods daily without ballooning up? Pickled beets.  Eat a few bites of PB with your fried chicken and gravy and enjoy your meal guilt free.  The antioxidants in  the beets and the apple cider vinegar help your body to metabolize the fats you need and get rid of the rest. For centuries beets were used as a medicine and not a food. They were prescribed for  'blood' problems.  I'm not going to go into the whole medicinal history of beets or apple cider vinegar (cuz you have the internet too and are smart enough to do the research)   I will say the combination of the two is a power house of health  benefits and properly prepared with time and love are tasty as well .

So, Here's Granny's easy recipe for 6 pints of pickled beets

5 pounds beets, scrubbed and trimmed. Leave 1 inch of the tops and leave on the taproot.  Put in large pot of cold water and set to boil. Let boil for twenty minutes.  Pour into collander (I just dump mine in the sink) run cold water over them and let cool for about 20 minutes. Cut off tops and taproots and slide off skins. Quarter and pack into sterilized jars. Put 1/2 tsp pickling spices in each jar.  Pour hot vinegar solution over them , seal and water bath for 20 minutes.  Put in cool dark place for 90 days.

Vinegar Solution

5 cups vinegar
2 cups water
1/3 cup sugar (I like turbinado)
1/2 tbsp salt  (I like sea salt)
five large cloves  of garlic
3 tbsp of pickling spices (McCormicks works great ) Put the pickling spices in a tea bag or tie them in a coffee filter for easy removal
Simmer solution for about 20 minutes.
Pour over beets packed in Jars

A Note: Many recipes call for using the water from the boiling of the beets. Don't do that. Its where a lot of the 'dirt' taste comes from. My grandmother says this comes from  people in dry areas who needed to save every drop of water. It became very common practice during the dust bowl era.