Pickled Beets

Grace and Sue each had a pickled beet recipe from their mother, and I have a short-cut that I thought was my mother's, though I'm not sure how reliable my memory is. I have no clue why Gramma Moore's beets are "Dutch-style" and Grammy Klotz's are "Harvard." My memory is that Mom served pickled beets cold (as do I), but from the recipe, Harvard beets are served warm.

Fresh roasted beets are firmer and stronger-flavored than canned, but they do tend to stain. Try them at least once so you know the difference.

Dutch-Style Beets

Martha Moore

• 6 cooked beets
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoon minced onion
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Slice beets 1/4 inch thick.

Melt butter. Add flour and minced onion. Mix well. Add hot water to butter mixture. Heat until mixture is thick. Add vinegar, sugar, and salt.

Add beets to sauce.

Harvard Beets

Edith Klotz

• 1 can (8 ounces) diced or shoestring beets
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Drain and measure liquid from beets; add water, if needed, to make 1/2 cup. (Save beets, of course.) Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in saucepan, stir in beet-water and vinegar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens and boils, 1 minute.

Stir in butter (could be omitted) and beets, stirring often until beets are hot.

Quick Pickled Beets

Jill Keen

I usually want pickled beets in the summer when it is just too hot to cook.

• 1 can sliced beets
• 2 or 3 tablespoons vinegar, to taste
• 1 teaspoon sugar*
• 2 paper-thin onion slices, cut in quarters, rings separated (optional)

Mix together and let marinate in the refrigerator at least an hour.

*The sugar cuts the harshness of the vinegar (I usually use cider vinegar in this recipe). Depending on your vinegar, you may not need it.