15 Ways to Use Beets
- Crushed. For beets that are crispy on the outside and supertender within, steam them whole, then mash them until flattened and sear them in butter and olive oil.
- Pickled.
- Sandwiches.
- Salt-roasted.
- Risotto.
- Tomato soup.
- Latkes.
- Soy-braised.
Can you eat the skin of a red beet?
Beets can be cooked in a variety of ways. Sometimes beets are peeled before cooking. They may also be scrubbed and cooked until tender with their skins on; the skins slip off fairly easily after cooling. (Some people are happy to leave the skins on; they are fine to eat.)
Are you supposed to peel beets before cooking?
Don’t bother peeling beets before cooking because the skin is very difficult to remove when the beets are raw, but they’ll slip right off after they’re cooked.
Should I soak beets before cooking?
They should be boiled with their skins on so that their flavor, color and juices won’t escape into the water (also called bleeding). For tough, out of season beets, you can try soaking them overnight in cold water. This will help them cook faster the next day.
What part of the beet can be eaten?
According to In Season, a cookbook from the editors of Fine Cooking, beets are ideal for salads, side dishes and soups. The entire plant is edible. You can use the small, tender leaves raw in salads, and sauté or braise the larger leaves as you would Swiss chard or kale.
Can I freeze beets without blanching them?
Chopped vegetables do not have to be blanched to freeze. Just like carrots, they keep well raw. Cut the raw peeled beets into small pieces, transfer them into a freezer bag, label and freeze. Any beet variety can be frozen like that.
How do you preserve red beets?
Prepare the beets by cooking them with ½ inch of their stem intact to minimize color bleed; then, cool them in cold water and remove the stems, taproot, and skin. Next, cut the beets into slices or cubes, package them into freezer bags or containers with a ½-inch headspace, and freeze.
