Pickled beets is one of the most common toppings for an open faced sandwich with liver pate. In my home we had them with meatballs or medisterpølse at dinner.

My parents grew beets in their large vegetables garden. My mom made a large batch of pickled beets enough for the whole year. My moms pickled beets were the best, they were worth the work for sure.

When I lived in Denmark, I didn't pickle my own beets, I just bought them at the store. But moving here I wanted to have the taste of the childhood pickled beets. This is how I do.

Ingredients

1 kg beets, scrubbed clean, but not peeled
salt (1 tablespoon pr liter water)

Pickling liquid:

1 liter vinegar
450 g sugar
8 whole cloves
2-3 slices horseradish

Direction:

Wash the beets and trim the stems, leaving about 1/4 inch attached. Don't cut into the beets, they will lose a lot of the juices.

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add salt and the beets and cook until just tender, about 45-60 minutes depending on the size of the beets.

Drain the beets and rinse with cold water and let the beets cool in the cold warter.

Bring vinegar to a boil and add sugar and cloves. Cut of the top and bottom of the beets, and rub the skin of, in a paper towel. Slice the beets to the desired thickness, fill the jars with the sliced beets, and pour in vinegar to cover the beets. Add 1-2 slices horseradish and close lids and allow to cool completely.

The pickled beets are ready to eat after at least 2 weeks, but they will keep for months unopened.

You can add a preservative like Atamon (sodium benzoate) to increase the shelf life.