Beautiful Beets: Pink Pancakes

Beets are prettier than potatoes, more colorful than turnips and easier to pronounce than rutabagas. So why do so many of my friends and family say they hate beets? Some even say the lovely purple root tastes like dirt. (They are probably reacting to the high levels of geosmin in beets, which is the element that gives a garden a rich smell after a rain.)

People have been eating beet greens for centuries, possibly as early as Babylonian times. Romans brought the beet to England. A 14th century manuscript calls for chopping and boiling the greens, then stir-frying them with pork fat, saffron and pepper, but warn insufficient cooking may harm the ‘wombee’ (stomach) (Cury on Inglysch, 1985, 53)

Beet roots took longer to become popular. At first, beet roots were used for medicinal purposes. Both the Greeks and the Romans considered beets to be an aphrodisiac. Aphrodite supposedly ate beets to enhance her already considerable appeal, and beet juice was used at least until the 19th century to redden cheeks and lips to make women more attractive. Both the health claims and carnal claims have some basis in  chemistry. Beets contain  betalains which are thought to fight cancer. They also contain tryptophan and betaine (natural mood enhancers) and boron, a trace  element said to increase human sex hormones.

At least by the middle ages, recipes for beet roots can be found. In the 16th century John Gerard wrote that the beetroot was both more beautiful and better than the leaves.  Another cookbook, The good Huswifes handmaide for the kitchin,  has this recipe for a beet pie.

To make Lumbardy tartes.

Take Beets, chop them small, and put to them grated bread and cheese, and mingle them wel in the chopping, take a few Corrans, and a dish of sweet Butter, & melt it then stir al these in the Butter, together with three yolks of Egs, Synamon, ginger, and sugar, and and make your Tart as large as you will, and fill it with the stuffe, bake it, and serue it in. (The good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin. London 1594, 1597 Digital text and notes by Sam Wallace)

Even with such marvelous recipes, beets have never been popular with everyone. There is no mention of beets in Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery. Amelia Simmons’ American Cookery (1796) doesn’t tell how to cook them, but says red are richest and better than white, which many people dislike as having a ‘sickish sweetness” (11). Although Thomas  Jefferson grew beets in his garden, Mary Randolph, an in-law and The Virginia Housewife or Methodical Cook (1824) has a recipe only for pickled beets. Indeed, most colonial cookbooks recommend pickled beets.

However the versatile root is surprisingly delicious in soups, stews, tarts and cakes. My favorite is beet pancakes served as a side dish. Colonial Williamsburg Foodways  (add link) cites Hannah Glasse’s  (18th century) recipe for pink pancakes. Colonial Williamsburg Historic Foodways

   Boil a large beet-root tender, and beat it fine in a marble mortar, then add the yolks of four eggs, two spoonfuls of flour, and three spoonfuls of good cream, sweeten to your taste, and grate in half a nutmeg, and put in half a glass of brandy; beat them all together half an hour, fry them in butter, and garnish them with green sweet-meats, preserved apricots, or green sprigs of myrtle. It is a pretty corner dish for either dinner or supper.                                    —Glasse, Hannah. The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, p. 220.

For modern cooks I suggest the following;

1-2  red beets
4 egg yolks 
¼  c. sugar (more or less depending on your taste)
¼ c. brandy
½ t. Nutmeg
3 T.  cream 
2 rounded tablespoons of flour
   Butter for frying
   Apricot jam or pistachios for garnish

Remove the beet top and stem, then boil until tender. (Test with a 
fork. Cool the beets enough to peel them. The skins should slip off  easily when rubbed.

Chop the beets, then mash them in a mortar (or use a food processor).

Add the remaining ingredients (except for the butter and garnish) a 
little at time to make a smooth batter. (I did not find it necessary to beat it for half an hour.)

Melt butter in a heavy skillet. ( I always use an iron skillet.) 
Pour in about 1/4 cup of batter and fry gently on both sides.

Serve hot with apricot jam for a delicious breakfast or side dish.

 These days, beets turn up in salads, added to brownies or burgers or even in hummus. So many delicious ways to serve beets! What’s your favorite?