BEETS

Recipes for beets from the 1st century Roman, Apicius. (Alexis Soyer, The Pantropheon, or A History of Food & Its Preparation in Ancient Times, 1853)
1 "Boil, over a slow fire, some very tender white beet; add leeks, which have been taken from their native soil some days previous; when all this is cooked put it into a saucepan with pepper, gravy, and raisin wine; take care that the ebullition (boiling) be regular, and serve."
2 "Tie in bundles the beet you have carefully chosen, wash it, throw in some nitre, and boil it with water; then put it into a saucepan with sun-raisin wine, pepper, cummin, and a little oil; at the moment of ebullition (boiling) add a mixture of gravy and coarsely chopped walnuts; cover the saucepan for an instant, uncover, and serve."
3 "When you have boiled beet in water until it is tender, add a pulp of leeks, some coriander, and cummin seed, carefully combined with flour and sun made wine; place these different ingredients in a saucepan, and add gravy, oil, and vinegar."
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