1 c. sugar
2 c. vinegar
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon

Cook beets until tender. Peel and slice. Pour into boiling syrup mixture and let boil a minute, pack into jars and seal.

The way my grandmother taught me to pickle beets with this recipe was to build a fire outside, put the old black wash pot on the fire, put the beets in (we would have just dug them) and cooked until tender (when the tops pulled off easily and the "skin" would slip off easily). Then we took them inside to finish.