Low acid means a pH above 4.6 — raw beets have a pH of 5.3 to 6.6. Any low-acid food must be canned using procedures to control the bacteria that produces the botulism toxin, a type of food ...

One of the better yields from this year’s gardens have been buckets of plump and juicy purple sugar beets, an annual favorite colorful canning chore for my mother Peggy during mid-summer.