Syrup from sugar beets (Mrs. Gulldis Bjaanes)

How to make it

1. 1

   Scrub the beets thoroughly clean and peel them raw with a potato peeler.

2. 2

   5–6 kg of raw-peeled beets are cut into thin slices on a cucumber slicer, the thinner the better, or rather in a vegetable mill; they must not be ground in a meat grinder or grated.

3. 3

   The sliced beets are placed in a large pot that holds 16–18 litres. Pour boiling water over them so that it stands well above the mass, and set the whole thing on a hotplate over low heat for at least 4 hours. The temperature should be 80–90° C (195 °F)., but it should not boil. Stir well now and then with a wooden spoon.

4. 4

   Then the beet mass is gathered up out of the juice with a colander or a slotted spoon into a large dish with an inverted plate at the bottom. The juice is then strained through a flannel bag into another dish or into a crock.

5. 5

   Then pour the juice back into the rinsed-out pot and set it to reduce on a hotplate over low heat (about 500 watts). The reduction then takes around 12–14 hours; it can conveniently be left to reduce overnight without supervision.

6. 6

   During the last half hour before the syrup is ready, a thick layer of grey-yellow foam forms on the surface, which is skimmed off just before the syrup is poured into a crock. Do not let the syrup stand too long after it has reached ordinary syrup thickness, as it will otherwise easily burn and stick.