But I had good reason. My mother, to her credit, never tortured us with canned beets. We went to a local New Jersey farmstand and brought home perfectly nice fresh beets, but they only ever got cooked ...

• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) jar Aunt Nellie's Harvard Beets, undrained • 1/2 cup butter, softened • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar • 2 large eggs • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice • ...

These delicious recipes are just the beginning of the wonderful things you can do with the planet’s most exuberantly hued root. Few foods are as instantly festive as the earthy-sweet, richly hued beet ...