Vegetable
Beetroot
Also called beet, red beet
The swollen red root of Beta vulgaris — beet in American English — that bleeds magenta into everything it touches. Borscht starts here. Golden beets are the same plant without the dye; they will not give you a red soup. The leaves are edible and closer to chard.
Origin
Mediterranean leaf beets were bred into a storage root and then into a Central and Eastern European pot vegetable. Ukrainian and Polish borscht made the colour famous; the root is older than any one national recipe.
Flavour
Sweet earth, a little mineral, sometimes a hint of mud if it was not scrubbed. Vinegar brightens it and helps the red stay loud. Overcooked beetroot tastes like sweet soil.
How to use it
Wear an apron. Grate or julienne raw for a bright borscht, or roast or boil in the skin until tender, then slip the skins. Acid — vinegar, lemon, fermented beet brine — keeps the colour from turning brown in a long soup. Gloves help if you do not want pink fingernails. Do not pair it on a board with anything you need to stay white. Pre-cooked vacuum beets are fine for a weeknight pot; drain them and still add acid. Sugar is rarely needed; salt and sour are.
Storage
Fresh roots, unwashed, leaves cut off, in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Cooked beetroot keeps a few days and stains every container. Do not store dirty roots in a sealed plastic bag of moisture.
Recipes using it
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