Sqwertz > wrote:

> The default canned beets here are not pickled. They're packed in
> the water in which they were cooked, usually with a little salt
> (you can usually find "no salt added" canned beets as well).

If so, adding the liquid wouldn't do much good, but it wouldn't hurt,
either.

> I'm pretty sure I've seen beet juice/liquor (kvas) in the Kosher
> sections of the grocery stores.

Juice probably, if it is there at all. Beet kvas is fermented beet
juice. Both are available widely in Germany. Beet juice is usually
sold in glass bottles or in Tetra-Paks; beet kvas usually in glass
bottles. Beet juice is sweetish, with no acidity apparent; beet kvas
has a stronger sour-sweet taste. Both can be drunk "as is".

> Oddly, I see this strange warning
> on the Net:
>
> "Never drink beet juice by itself. Beet juice should always be mixed
> with other vegetables and/or apple juice. Pure beet juice (from the
> bulb or greens) can temporarily paralyze your vocal chords, make you
> break out in hives, increase your heart rate, cause chills or a
> fever."
>
> I dont' know what to make of that. Sounds pretty far fetched as
> beet juice is considered a healthy drink from everything I've
> read. And eating beets isn't that much different than drinking
> the juice.

Indeed. I do not think the "warning" is based on anything scientific.
A search of PubMed and Medline for "beta vulgaris" and toxicity revealed
nothing of the kind. Beet juice and beet kvas are sold in every "health
food" store, among other places, here. No warnings to be found
anywhere.

Victor