Harvard Beets
Ingredients
- 8 small-medium cooked beets see notes
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup water
- any juice from the beets you collect
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, water, beet juice, salt and pepper over low heat until everything is well combined and smooth.
- Add the beets and heat through. Add the butter, stir to melt it and serve immediately.
Notes
- I used already cooked Love Beets I bought in bulk at Costco, you can also roast the beets that day or the night before and refrigerate them until you are ready.
- Do not over cook the sauce! It is gets thick and gloppy quickly.
I really need a vegetable (besides sauerkraut!) for Thanksgiving and I had a ton of pre-cooked Love Beets I bought at Costco and thought it would be a great excuse to make Harvard Beets. Harvard Beets are another regional dish (fitting the theme!) with a murky origin story. Are they named Harvard Beets because beets are similar to Harvard’s colors? Or it is because they were first made a tavern in England named “Harwood” that opened up a branch in Boston with the same name, serving these beets and I guess people didn’t know how to pronounce it correctly? That makes zero sense but that’s what I keep seeing. Who knows? But it is a popular and tasty dish that seems to be the most popular in New England. I came across so many people saying it “wasn’t Thanksgiving without Harvard Beets”.
It is pretty straightforward although I’ve seen variations and arguments for lemon and/or orange juice rather than water or even the vinegar. The trick is the cornstarch, it turns the beet juices and vinegar into a velvety sauce.
