you must be wondering why i am struggling to make small daily postings with piece meal information.  would you rather wait 3 to 6 months and read one big posting instead?  or wait 3 to 6 years and read one big book from me?  that is how long i dedicate each cake, take that!

follow the instructions at the end of the recipe on ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Rose Red Velvet Cake (page 83), to learn how to make red food coloring from beets.  i used large beets, so i baked the full 1 hour 15 minutes.  be sure your oven isn’t hotter than indicated on your recipe, otherwise you risk making a fried beet!  i let the beets cools completely prior to opening the foil envelope, this can take over 2 hours, the extra sweating makes more juice.  also, you can repeat the process 2 or 3 times for more harvesting of the red juice.  i did this over a period of 2 days, too tired to bake the cake, so now the red sits in a 1/2 pint canning jar, vacuumed,  frozen.

3 large beets produce 1/4 cup of food coloring (76 grams), is it worth it?  if not, beat it!