A Course of Lectures on the Principles of Domestic Economy and Cookery

you simply let them stand in the water and gradually soften and soak, letting the water keep warm, you would soak the color out. That follows with all boiled vegetables. Where we want to preserve the color this is the simplest and easiest way to do it. _Question._ Can the color of beets be preserved in the way you speak of? MISS CORSON. No, beets have to be boiled differently from any other vegetable. If you break the skin of beets, or cut them in any way, the color escapes in the water. So that to prepare the beets for boiling, wash them very carefully without breaking the skin. Do not cut off the roots or the tops of the beets close; leave some of the roots and three or four inches of the stalk. Do not trim them off close, because if you cut the roots or stalks close to the beet you make a cut whence the color can escape; wash them very carefully without breaking the skin. Put them over the fire in boiling water. You do not need to salt it, in fact, it is better not to salt it. Boil them until they grow tender to the touch. If you puncture the beet with a fork or knife, to try it, you let the color out, but you can take one of the beets up on a skimmer and use a thick towel and hold it in your hand and squeeze it to see if it is growing soft. Do not break the skin, always remember that. When the beet is tender you will find that it will yield a little, between your fingers, and the length of time required for cooking them will be from half an hour to two hours and a half, perhaps even longer than that. Young, tender, juicy beets may be cooked in half an hour. The older they are, the later it is in the season, the harder the woody fibre will be, and the longer it will take to cook them. After they are cooked really tender, then