5 March 08 re: beet questions

Niseema:

In your appendix about beets, I don't understand why you put the beet into a bowl to trim off its top and bottom. It seems as though it would be a lot easier to put the beet onto the table or cutting board for trimming. I must be missing something.

m-c:

Sorry I didn't make it clear. I don't want to give it away, but take a look at the end of the appendix to see whether I've done a better job of explaining this time.

12 March 08 re: beet questions

Niseema:

No, I still don't get it. The risk of cutting yourself while trimming a roasted beet seems much smaller than, say, the risk of cutting yourself while cutting a raw onion (which is much harder than the roasted beet), and people don't put raw onions in a bowl for trimming. At least I've never seen it done.

In both cases what you are trying to avoid is having the thing you are cutting rotate unexpectedly while you are cutting. In the case of the beet this is easy: You grab it sideways and trim away from your hand. At least it seems like that should work The onion is actually more difficult because you often want to halve it lengthwise first, so it is harder to prevent it rolling.

m-c:

No no no! That's not blood in the picture, it's beet juice.

Try cutting a cooked beet some time without the bowl. Your hands, your cutting surface, and most probably your clothes will all be stained a deep purplish red. Wikipedia says: "Betanin, or Beetroot Red, is a red glycosidic food dye obtained from beets; its aglycone, obtained by hydrolyzing away the glucose molecule, is betanidin." And much more.

The bowl catches all the juice from the cut beet and the sharp fork prevents your holding hand from touching the beet.

Figuring out how to cut beets without staining is (I say immodestly) one of my chief triumphs in the kitchen.

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