Sweet Pickled Carrots

These carrots were just so pretty in the store and only $1.77 for a one pound bag that I went and got them.

I looked around for a recipe. Wanted something different for a change. I found Sweet Pickled Carrots in my Better Homes & Garden Home Canning Cookbook (1973) but it called for 6 pounds of carrots. Had to adjust the recipe. At first I cut it in half but knew that wouldn't be enough liquid to cover 4 pints of carrots (I know from buying these bags of carrots before that each bag equals 2 pints) so I added some more to it. The recipes called for cinnamon sticks, I have some somewhere but I don't know where and the ground cinnamon was right there, so I used that. I also pressure canned it for 5 minutes instead of waterbath canning it for 5 minutes. I really don't know why anyone would want to fill up a waterbath canner for 4 pints when a pressure canner is so much faster and takes a lot less water. I also did not cook the vinegar liquid for the 20 minutes that the recipe called for (what the heck for ?). Anyway, so my recipe may not turn out as well as theirs but I like to experiment.
Here is my recipe:
2 pounds baby carrots
2 cups sugar
2 cups vinegar
2 cups water
1 heaping tablespoon mustard seeds
1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon
2 whole cloves
Put carrots in a pan of water and bring to a boil. Boil about 5 minutes. Put the rest of the ingredients in a pan and boil for about 5 minutes as well. Put carrots in jars, fill jars with vinegar mixture leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Waterbath (or pressure can in my case) 5 minutes.  Makes 4 pints.

The sauce

Filling the jars. Aren't they pretty?!

The finished product!