Nana Cecelia's Harvard Beets
This is a new one on me. Barbara over at "Barbara's Tchatzkahs" who recently sent in the recipe Muffin Meatloaf And Potatoes a la Barbara, now gives us a recipe from the "old country" and her grandmother. Here is what she writes:Today I was digging through more boxes from parents which I had in storage. My mother passed 7 years ago and I knew she had my some of Nana's recipes in her things somewhere. My Nana, of blessed memory, was one of the best cooks I have ever known. The oldest of 13 children and the daughter of 2 immigrants who ran from the Pogroms in Poland, she could make a gourmet meal out of a crust of bread and a carrot! Well, almost.O.k. all this is great. But first thing is first. I had to know why they are called "Harvard" Beets, and not just plain beets. So I went over to foodreference.com and this is what I found.
And I found some of them!! Many of them are for baked goods (will share later) but I found her recipe for Harvard Beets in my Nana's handwriting. While I only like beets in borscht, this was a favorite with most of the rest of my family.
Hope you can use this - I think she'd be amazed her recipes can be immortalized on the Internet now!
Barbara
Harvard beets are cooked beets in a sweet and sour sauce of vinegar and sugar (with spices) and sometimes with butter and/or orange juice. Supposedly created by a Harvard student (or a Yale student), there is also a story that they originated in a tavern in England named 'Harwood' and the 'Harvard' is a mispronunciation of the name.So there ya go. The reason for Harvard in Harvard beets. And now to the recipe!
Nana Cecelia's Harvard Beets
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups of diced, cooked beets
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoon(s) butter
- salt to taste
Utensils You Need:
- Pot for Stove Top
- Dice and boil beets until the are soft all the way through (test with a knife)
- Mix sugar, cornstarch and vinegar.
- Bring this to a boil and add beets.
- Cover and take off heat and let stand about 20 minutes.
- Add salt to taste and butter and return to low heat until beets are warm.
- Serve.
Really, is very easy. Though I am not a beet lover. You can add orange juice which is also in most of the recipes I have seen as well. My father loved borscht with sour cream. I never did get a taste for it, but every time beets are served, I am reminded of eating Sunday Morning breakfast in "Steinbergs Restaurant" which was on the east side of Broadway between 83rd and 84th street. Amazing what memories a simple food dish can conjure!Tags:
Comments
My father (of blessed memory) adored beets. This was his favorite recipe. My brother likes it too.
Borscht, btw, can be made a few different ways. I have to ask a friend of mine for his recipe. He's part Polish also and makes it differently than I do. I want to compare the recipes before I share ;)
Regards!
i love the old recipes from grand/great grandmothers, but as i've discovered, many don't include specific times or details that "well, of course, everyone knows that" instructions...lol.
my own great grandmother (may she rest in peace), cooked by feel... she could judge the temperature of an oven by holding her hand in it, she judged amounts by how thick or thin the mixture was, and oh my! was it ever hard to figure out what "a handful" of something was, when my hands were so much bigger than hers!
Just stumbled across your blog today and what a lovely and interesting blog you have :) And congratulations for winning the award for the best food blog of 2007.
Erik
Excellent blog btw!