Help, how do I cook beets??

[ktgrok]

I got some in a co op order. I have a memory of hating pickled beets as a child, but haven't had them since I was about 3 years old. And have never had fresh ones. I'm thinking roasting maybe???

[Dahliarw]

I wrap them individually in foil, put them in a pan, and roast them. You can google to find temp/time. Then let them cool (in the foil) and you can rub the skins off in the foil as you take it off. Then slice and either add them to whatever you're cooking them with or eat plain.

[Liz CA]

Peel them either before or after boiling until beet is soft.

Chop into bite size and drizzle with vinaigrette and a little

brown sugar.

[myfunnybunch]

I wrap them individually in foil, put them in a pan, and roast them. You can google to find temp/time. Then let them cool (in the foil) and you can rub the skins off in the foil as you take it off. Then slice and either add them to whatever you're cooking them with or eat plain.

 

This is how I cook them too, though I rub each beet with a little olive oil and wrap all of them in a single foil packet. Cook at around 400 until you can pierce the beets easily with a fork--time will depend on the size of the beet. I usually start checking around 30-40 minutes.

 

Once the beets are roasted, you can serve them many ways: Sliced as is, sliced on a bed of greens with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar, pickled, warm or cold. One of my favorite ways to serve them is sliced, sauteed in a little butter and orange juice, toss in some chopped pecans and maybe some chopped orange pieces at the last minute and serve on a bed of greens.

 

I remember the first time I got beets in a CSA box. I immediately thought, "Ew. I HATE beets." That lasted until I took them out of the oven and tasted my first slice. I l-o-v-e beets. Now I grow them so that I can eat as many as I want.

 

Did you get them with the greens left on? The greens are good too, and you can cook them the same way you'd cook Swiss chard or spinach. I heat olive oil, add a little garlic, add freshly-washed (still slightly damp) greens and stir to coat with the oil, cover for about 2-3 minutes, then uncover them again, stir, and cook a little longer to let any remaining liquid evaporate. Sprinkle with s&p to taste and serve immediately. They're very good for you.

 

Cat

[Rosie_0801]

Peel them either before or after boiling until beet is soft.

Chop into bite size and drizzle with vinaigrette and a little

brown sugar.

 

:iagree: We eat ours with a mustard salad dressing. :)

 

I'm glad to have found a tasty way to eat them. My childhood experiences involved my Polish grandfather, who must have come from a long line of really bad cooks, grating up large, woody beets. :ack2: I was so traumatised I couldn't bring myself to eat anything other than tinned for fifteen years.

 

Rosie

[SonshineLearner]

I do them in a large black skillet with a tons of butter and it's also good with some orange juice and brown sugar. I usually just do butter. It sounds bad, but most of the butter is left in the skillet... Then you just pop off the beet and it's really incredible!! ;) The next day you just eat them on salad or whatever.... (The first day I eat them hot) (Of course I scrub them off before I put them in the skillet)

YUM YUM YUM!!! :)

[laundrycrisis]

I boil them with some sugar in the water. I don't peel them until after they are boiled, then I remove the skin with a knife. I also leave the ends intact until ready to eat. They keep more of their color this way.

[LaxMom]

I peel and wedge them, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast them in a moderately hot oven (375-400F), usually with other root vegetables.

 

A friend has a great recipe for beet salad (bulbs and greens) on her website. The kale salad is crazy good, too.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Mmmmm. Beets.

 

I either boil them, or wrap them in foil and roast them like the others said.

 

Now I want beets. I even like them pickled.

[MomsintheGarden]

We grow beets and eat them a lot. I usually cook a fairly large batch of beets at a time, about 5-10 quarts.

 

Here's how to roast beets the way I do. I like the flavor of roasted beets, and it seems you lose fewer nutrients by cooking them in the oven than by boiling.

 

1. Trim off the leaves and skinny part of the roots, leaving 1-2" of stem/root on each beet.

2. Scrub the beets but don't worry about getting every speck of dirt off. You will peel them later.

3. Place them in a stainless steel or other type of pot or casserole. The pots I like for this are the cheapo Ikea ones because they can be scrubbed with Barkeeper's Friend afterward. I use a 7 quart and an 11 quart pot. Anything is fine as long as it has a lid. Place the larger beets on the outside of the pile.

4. Put about 1/2"-3/4" of water in the pot, then cover and roast in a 350 degree F oven for 1-2 hours. The time depends on the size of the beets.

5. The beets are done when a fork sticks in them easily.

6. Cool for a few minutes, then peel them. Rinse the peeled beets briefly to get any dirt off.

7. We eat them sliced with butter and salt & pepper.

 

I will usually cook a pot of beets every couple of weeks and we just eat them until they're gone (within a week). Beets freeze well, and you can also pickle them.

 

We've found beets to be easy to grow, especially in the fall. Our planting this year was especially successful. In mid-July we planted two rows of seeds on fertile ground with a soaker hose in the middle. They came up right away with frequent watering, necessary because we had a lot of hot, dry weather. About a month later, I reseeded the areas that didn't come up (I used some old seeds, and they had spotty germination). You can start harvesting them any time they are big enough. I like to wait until they are fairly large (the Lutz and Cylindra varieties don't get woody for us, even when big). They are sweeter after a couple of frosts. We started harvesting in October, and still have bags of beets in the refrigerator. You can also store them in a cool place in layers of sand.

 

HTH,

GardenMom