beets, washed and trimmed
4 cups cider vinegar
2 cups sugar or a bit less
2 cups of water or less
4 sticks of cinnamon
8 whole alspice
8 whole cloves
Cut beets into uniform pieces or leave small beets whole. Cook until just tender (about 20 minutes) or until you can slip the peels off. Plunge into cold water and slip peels off.
Combine water, sugar and vinegar. Put spices in a piece of cheesecloth and tie it tightly with a piece of thread or string. Add to the vinegar mixture. Add the beets and bring to a boil. Allow the beets to simmer until they have absorbed the flavor you like. Remove from heat, and let them cool until you can refrigerate in a sealed container. You may remove the spice bag or not, depending on how much spicy flavor you want your beets to have.
Eat them from the refrigerator and there is no need to can. For preserving lots of beets, consult your canning recipes for safe procedures.