Pickled Beets. . . recipies anyone?

[Michelle_Nelson]

Steen how long do you let your beets boil? 

[HoofsandWings]

When you cook the beets you just cut the leaves off 1" above the beet (so it won't bleed), leave the root on, and then put them in a pot of water and boil until they are tender?  How long do you figgure it takes?

This is the standard method in Russian cookbooks. Usually 40 minutes when starting with cold water.
The whole purpose of this method is to be able to remove the rind with your fingers under cold water.
In pickling the trick is to not make the recipe too strong, unless you are going to eat the beets in a short period of time.
In a strong solution, the beets that you eat last will possibly be too strong tasting.
I pickled some peaches and the ones I ate first were great, but the ones I tasted a couple of weeks later were way too strong.

[HoofsandWings]

If the beets are about an inch in diameter, 30 minutes

[Michelle_Nelson]

A 1" diameter beet is tiny.  Mine are between 2 and 2 1/2",  Than 3 - 4 1/2". . .

[lokidog]

Michelle, in the past, I have just boiled them until tender enough to stick a fork most of the way in.

For all you beet haters out there, try roasted beets, you will sing a different tune.  There are also other varieties that are more mild than the standard red beet, chiogga beets for instance and goldens are more mild as well.

Off the pickle topic but here is the recipe for roasted beets.  Peel beets if the skins have dried out with a potato peeler.  Dice into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes, place into plastic bag, drizzle olive or canola oil over them, sprinkle in garlic  powder, and onion powder, and some pepper if desired.  Mix well.  Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for one hour or to desired crispiness.  The sugars in the beets start to carmelize and the crunch is great.  Be careful not to burn them as blackened beets are nasty.  You can also throw in potatoes, onions, zucchini or crookneck squash.  Potatoes can go in the same time as the beets but the summer squashes should be added with about 20 minutes left so as not to overcook.

Cut up about twice as many as you think will be eaten as they shrink a lot during the cooking process.

[NRA4LIFE]

My recipe is almost identical to Steen's except I substitute a Tbsp of pickling spice for the cinnamon, cloves and allspice.  I also remove the cloves (yuk) from the pickling spice.