Recipes

Hot Spiced Beets

Recipe No. 569 from the U.S. Army's WWII cookbook — Vegetables. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Army TM10-412 · Side Dish · Vegetable

Serves 100 servings, approximately ½ cup each.
View source — TM 10-412 Army Recipes (War Department, 1944) ↗

Recipe No. 569 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Vegetables. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

  • Beets — 20 pounds*
  • Water, boiling — as needed
  • Vinegar — 1½ quarts (1½ No. 56 dippers)
  • Sugar, granulated — 1½ pounds (¾ No. 56 dipper)
  • Salt — ½ ounce (1 mess kit spoon)
  • Pepper — as needed
  • Cinnamon, stick — 10 — 2½-inch sticks
  • Cloves, whole — ¼ ounce (1 mess kit spoon)
  • Allspice, whole — ¼ ounce (1 mess kit spoon)
  • Onions, sliced (optional) — 1 onion
  • Cornstarch — 1½ ounces (5 mess kit spoons)

Directions

Key ingredients

Cinnamon · Cornstarch

  1. Remove beet tops about 3 inches from the beets, leaving tap root attached. Wash beets thoroughly without breaking the skin. If the skin is broken, juice will escape from the beets while cooking.
  2. Add boiling water to beets. Heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer about 30 to 35 minutes or until tender. Drain; reserve liquid.
  3. Cool and remove stems and skins with fingers; slice.
  4. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and all but ¾ pint (½ mess kit cup) beet liquid.
  5. Tie spices and onion in cheesecloth; add to vinegar mixture. Heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat; allow to stand 1 hour.
  6. Mix cornstarch with the ¾ pint (½ mess kit cup) cold beet liquid; stir until smooth.
  7. Reheat vinegar mixture to boiling point; remove spice bag. Add cornstarch mixture. Heat to boiling point; boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  8. Reduce heat; add beets and simmer about 10 minutes.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Beets — 1 lb 9⅔ oz Water, boiling — to taste Vinegar — 7⅔ tbsp Sugar, granulated — 2 oz Salt — a pinch Pepper — to taste Cinnamon, stick — scale to taste (10 — 2½-inch sticks) Cloves, whole — a pinch Allspice, whole — a pinch Onions, sliced (optional) — scale to taste (1 onion) Cornstarch — about ¾ tsp

3 No. 10 cans beets may be substituted for the 20 pounds fresh beets.

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 569, Vegetables. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.