Another Good Short Crust

Ingredients

• 1/4 pint of milk
• 2 eggs
• two sorts of beet

Directions

1. 1211. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 8 oz. of butter, the yolks of 2 eggs, 2 oz. of sifted sugar, about 1/4 pint of milk.

2. _Mode_.--Rub the butter into the flour, add the sugar, and mix the whole as lightly as possible to a smooth paste, with the yolks of eggs well beaten, and the milk. The proportion of the latter ingredient must be judged of by the size of the eggs: if these are large, so much will not be required, and more if the eggs are smaller.

3. _Average cost_, 1s. per lb.

4. SUGAR AND BEETROOT.--There are two sorts of Beet,--white and red; occasionally, in the south, a yellow variety is met with. Beetroot contains twenty parts sugar. Everybody knows that the beet has competed with the sugar-cane, and a great part of the French sugar is manufactured from beet. Beetroot has a refreshing, composing, and slightly purgative quality. The young leaves, when cooked, are a substitute for spinach; they are also useful for mixing with sorrel, to lessen its acidity. The large ribs of the leaves are serviceable in various culinary preparations; the root also may be prepared in several ways, but its most general use is in salad. Some writers upon the subject have expressed their opinion that beetroot is easily digested, but those who have taken pains to carefully analyze its qualities make quite a contrary statement. Youth, of course, can digest it; but to persons of a certain age beet is very indigestible, or rather, it does not digest at all. It is not the sugary pulp which is indigestible, but its fibrous network that resists the action of the gastric organs. Thus, when the root is reduced to a puree, almost any person may eat it.

5. FRENCH SUGAR.--It had long been thought that tropical heat was not necessary to form sugar, and, about 1740, it was discovered that many plants of the temperate zone, and amongst others the beet, contained it. Towards the beginning of the 19th century, circumstances having, in France, made sugar scarce, and consequently dear, the government caused inquiries to be instituted as to the possibility of finding a substitute for it. Accordingly, it was ascertained that sugar exists in the whole vegetable kingdom; that it is to be found in the grape, chestnut, potato; but that, far above all, the beet contains it in a large proportion. Thus the beet became an object of the most careful culture; and many experiments went to prove that in this respect the old world was independent of the new. Many manufactories came into existence in all parts of France, and the making of sugar became naturalized in that country.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

What these numbers assume: 3 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Beet	1/2 cup (85g)	35

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.