Yeah, from what you say, I'd agree you were ok with this particular recipe (doesn't tranlate to other recipes tho, ok?).

Lesson learned. ;) Technically speaking, you should have processed the finished jars while completing the others rather than letting them wait but you did keep them hot so they are safe. And anything that will be processed for more than 10 mins doesn't require pre-sterilized jars so that part is ok too. Did you headspace on all turn out ok when done?

One suggestion for the future: fill each jar one at a time with both beets and liquid, remove air bubbles, cap it and put it into the bath then fill the second jar with the food and liquid etc. 5 jars of hot foods will cool rapidly sitting on the counter waiting to have the hot brine added to it.

Dave

Thanks Dave.. I thought about processing in batches, but it was already 8:30 and with 1/2 hour processing time I didnt' want to be up too late... My headspace was perfect.. I was obsessive about that.

It never occurred to me that the beets would cool too quickly in the jar. Some of the small details you don't really get in books, I guess.

You did fine. It's just part of the learning curve.

I routinely 1 1/2 or 2x pickling syrup recipes. I never can seem to make them come out even.

Carol

Yup, always make extra too.
So glad I did when I did pickled cauliflower, refrigerated it. Then I had alot of Flying Saucer summer squashes, used that brine for the summer squash. They were great! So crisp, sadly I have none for winter, ate the 2 pints already!

I'm another who makes extra brine, mine never seems to be enough.

Your beets are fine, be sure to make a note in that book that you need more brine. Otherwise, if you're like me, you'll make the same darned error next year!

Annie

Bubbles?? Odd. Unless the liquid was very thick, I have never had any problems with pickled beets. As mentioned before, I leave an inch of the stems attached to the beets as well as some of the thin root. They get boiled in water until they are just tender enough so a fork can go in about half an inch or so. They get cooled, and peeled, and the ends are trimmed off. If they are bigger than about an 1.5 inches in diameter, they get sliced into jars, along with some slices of onion. If they are smaller than the 1.5 inches they get packed whole. The pickle juice is sweetened, as well as salt added, and the spices used are a little dill, celery seed, and mustard seed. I use full 5% strength white vinegar, or a bit of cider vinegar if I want a mellower taste. The brine is brought to a boil and poured over the beet filled jars. They never seem to have any bubbles anywhere, unless the beets are really packed very tight and crammed into every single space (not good!). In any case, they get into the canner soon after and are processed without any problems. I usually make pints, but if I have a lot of beets, a few quarts too. I have no recipe to go by, but after doing these so many times before, I usually end up with plenty of the brine juice. One time, I packed a quart jar with just onion slices and added the same brine, along with a single beet slice. It gave me a nice, pink, pickled jar of pickled onion slices.

Just to clarify one of dave's comments... if something is going to be processed for more than 10 minutes, I don't need to sterilize the jars???

No. Anything processed 10 minutes or more does not require sterilized jars. Of course they need to be clean and hot, but that's sufficient.

Carol

Thanks Carol. I've been taking the jars from the box (newbie here spending lots of money on jars) and washing them than boiling them for 10 minutes. You just saved me a ton of time!!!

Hrrrm... checked my beets this AM (just because I like looking at what I've made) and I see one slice of beet is sticking up into the headspace... should I refridgerate (or toss) this jar?

newbie canning.. so many details!

No, just flip the jar over a day or so and it will be fine, once its flipped back upright.

Even if you don't flip it over, it's ok. Sometimes the solids come up out of the liquids, and they may discolor (more a problem with light things like peaches). But they are still perfectly safe, unless of course there are other signs of spoilage (mold, bad smell), which are bad regardless of whether the food is sticking up.

Melissa

I find I always need more brine than is specified. I suspect that the problem is related to getting the exact weight of the product to be pickled, and cutting it into exactly the right size chunks, and packing it exactly tightly enough. If you could do that and worked at exactly the right speed (so that you minimized how much brine was lost in steam due to keeping it hot), you might find you came out with the right amount of brine. I never seem to, though.

Some foods swell when canned, some shrink.. Sizing may help some, but when I pack jars, I like to quickly rotate them when partialy filled so they are settling in better.