1 Cut the cooked and peeled beets and put them in a saucepan, cover with liquid using 3/4 water and 1/4 good red wine vinegar. Salt and pepper, cook for 4 minutes after it comes to a boil.
2 Blend for 30 seconds and pour the mixture onto the center of a clean kitchen towel, fold up the four corners, twist and squeeze firmly over a bowl to collect the juice.
3 Weigh your juice and add the same weight in sugar.
4 Pour everything into your saucepan and cook until you get a caramel.
5 Remove from heat and pour in 2 tablespoons of cold water while stirring to stop the cooking. Watch out for splattering when you add water to the hot caramel.
6 Store in a small sealed jar, like an old mustard pot for example. You'll have an excellent condiment perfect with grilled pig's feet, pork chops or griddle tuna, and also great on firm raspberries.
In Alsace, some chefs add a splash of kirsch to this beet caramel, playing on the bitterness of the fruit with cherry liqueur. Sounds odd on paper, but it works. For serving, keep it simple: firm raspberries just placed on top, or lightly salted pork chops. Don't try to overcomplicate things. The thing that makes all the difference is the moment you pour the cold water into the hot caramel. Two tablespoons, poured all at once while stirring, otherwise the splattering will burn you. Keep it in a sealed jar, it lasts for months in the fridge.
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