The red beet is much used to decorate different dishes.
It is boiled, then pickled, cut in fancy shapes, either with a knife or
with paste-cutters, and tastefully placed on or around the object it is
used to decorate.
It is served as a _hors-d'oeuvre_, pickled, and cut in slices.
_To boil._--Set it on a good fire in a pan, covered with cold water, and
boil gently till done.
The beet must not be touched at all with any thing rough, for if the
skin or root is cut or broken, all the color goes away in boiling, it is
not fit to decorate, and loses much of its quality.
When you buy beets, see that they are not bruised, and that the root is
not broken.