British Expatriate Network

How do you cook yours?
I usually boil them and then slice and add a tad of sugar and vinegar . Am looking for a new way as I'm growing the old heirloom golden ones which I believe are lighter in flavor.

I don't. I only eat them out of a jar.
I did have Harvard beets once but didn't care for them much.

Never tried it myself but Anton Brown bakes his in the oven. I bet if you go onto the Food Network website you may just find his recipe. If I remember correctly he wrapped them in foil. Unfortunately I think he rubbed them in oil but I'm sure you could get away without having to do that.

I normally just boil mine too but don't add sugar - just vinegar )

Ben, I don't usually add sugar but I was searching recipes and saw one which said to add sugar , then vinegar, then a little EVVO, as Rachael Ray says. Unfortunately I forgot the oil. They were the same, basically, I only used a smidgeon of sugar.
Do you know if they grate after being baked or are the grated ones you get in salads when you eat out raw. I don't know, seems kind of weird not to cook them.?

I cook them by throwing them on the fire! Yucky things!

When we were members of a fruit n veg co-op we got tons of these things so had to get creative. How's about a beet and horseradish relish?

horseradish root
1 cup sour cream
2 pounds cooked and chopped beets
1 teaspoon sugar

Scrape & was hhorseradish root - grate desired amount into sour cream and let stand for a few hours. Blend cooked beets, 2 teaspoons additional grated horseradish and sugar until beets are coarsely chopped. Mix in sour cream mixture. Cover in a bowl and stick in the fridge for a day or two. And there - you've got relish.


A good book for these sorts of things is "From Asparagus to Zucchini" by the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition - which actually sounds like an armed militia to me. That's where the above recipe came from and we like it for a change.

I can't imagine eating them raw. I bet after you cook them, let them cool and put them in the fridge, they will grate quite easily. Whenever I have had them in a salad they always tasted cooked.

Did you find the sugar made a difference to the taste? My mother would put sugar on everything so I'm sure I had sugar on them as a child :roll: I suppose the sugar would take some of the harshness out of the vinegar.

Thanks Bungle, your recipe has entered the notebook and will be tried, sounds good, we like a bit of heat in this house.

Ben, I used such a smidge of sugar I hardly noticed it, but Johnnie did, so I guess he's more attuned to the forbidden than me. I just thought the vinegar wasn't as sharp and then remembered the sugar so stayed quiet.

I like cooking beetroots as i use cloth dishclothes from Costco, by em in bulk, when they get beyond bleaching i stick em in the beet water and we have pink dishcloths for a while. Helps me work out how long I've had stuff and when to rebuy. lol

Are you quite mad?? They are disgusting..

What EEB said, except, I had borscht once and that was quite good.

Pickled beets (Greenwood Brand??) are great,so is cold beetroot soup with sour cream (Borscht~sp?) I think it is called.

I can't stand them ever since, mum, let a pan of them boil dry...very dry!,lol
Ended up throwing away the pan, and leaving the windows open for a week!

oooh, opened a can today!! ate the whole lot with a dosing of vinager!! not as good as the jarred type but still good in a cheese and beetroot sandwich!!yum