From On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee:
“People have eaten this plant since prehistory, initially its leaves, then the underground part of specialized varieties. In Greek times beet roots were long, either white or red, and sweet; Theophrastus reported around 300 BCE that they were pleasant enough to eat raw. The fat red type is first depicted in the 16th century.”
Psych! No beets in the share this week. Instead we’re giving you pickled beets. These particular beets were from a Group B share back in August. We’ll pickle the beets that came with this week’s shares and share them with Group B next week to spread the love.
Also called Italian Beets these are striated pink and white. I like to call them the rosé of beets, right between red and gold. The color will bleed a bit when cooked, especially in a liquid. But shaved or shredded, it eats nice raw in a salad or slaw and retains the gorgeous color.
Beets again in this share. A quark in our system of every other week within Nichols’ every week system is that sometimes one group gets things a couple times while the other doesn’t see it all. Luckily beets will last quite awhile in the fridge, and even longer pickled (plus more snackable). We pickle ours with baking spices for a nice cozy vibe.
This is the first time this year that we have included the greens from a bunching veggie in the shares (turnip, kohlrabi, carrot, etc.). If we don’t include them, we typically blanch and freeze them to procrastinate finding a use for them. Since this share is the first that isn’t bursting with greens we figured they wouldn’t overwhelm you all. Beet greens are very similar in flavor to swiss chard, but with a more velvety texture. Use for a salad, sauté, or toss into soup, stew, or curry.
Beets came were included in this share, but we’re going to hold on to them and then we have time over the next week we’ll pickle and can them to return in the next share.
Early season beets are nice since they’re quite a bit smaller. Roasted whole is a fun way to go, but my preferred way to cook beets is by braising with a decent amount of acid to help brighten them up.
For premium, we went ahead and shredded yours for this week’s recipe.
