Help please with cooking beetroot

[old tree man]

Can anyone help me with cooking beetroot, how long for ?? and the best way to preserve them, vinegar in jars ect ??? thanks

Russ

[StripyPixieSocks]

Hi!

I boiled mine for 1 hour then tested with a knife and if they weren't soft boiled for another 10 minutes and tested again.

When they had cooled I eased off the skins, sliced them and put them in jars and poured over hot vinegar (I think the ratio was 1tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt to 1 cup of malt vinegar)... that was a year ago and there's still some in the fridge and they still taste absolutely yummy :)

Not exactly sure how long it will last but so far so good... if I don't post for a while at some point feel free to note the distance from then to here ;)

[pumpy]

Twist(don't cut) the leaf stems off,at the base. Carefully rinse off soil(don't damage the skins). Wrap in tin-foil. Bake @ 180(degrees C) for up to 2 hours,until tender. Peel skin off while still hot. (you may want to wear latex gloves for this.......depending on your fetish!).Slice to about 5mm thick(or thin). A good pickling receipe contains: Malt vinegar, peppercorns,cloves & a bayleaf or two. Put these into pan,bring to boil,simmer for 1 min. Cover, & leave to stand for 2 hours. Strain off. Put beet into jars & fill with mixture. Leave to stand,ideally, for 8 weeks, giving the jars an occasional gentle shake. Bootiful!!!! Jackie made a batch,recently, & put some raw,crushed garlic in one jar, 2 halves of red chilli pepper in another, & so on. Good luck.

[Ellendra]

Bake until tender, remove skins, eat with butter and salt.

Just about everything tastes good that way.

[ina]

I don't go for baking as it wastes a whole load of energy (and definitely not in tin foil!). Stems off, wash and cook, preferably in a pressure cooker; young ones don't need too long, so be careful.

They store quite well, too, so unless you particularly like the pickled kind (I don't), I would try and store them as they are.

[becks77]

Hi,
All my beets have been quite small this year so take very little time to boil,once the stems have been cut off...not too close as they bleed something terrible.Once soft enough for your own taste plunge into cold water and leave, When cool enough to handle you should be able to just push the skins off and then cut off any "tails" remaining(roots) pop them on a salad or into a large jar and cover with vinegar, it doesn't matter what sort as long as you like the flavour, I prefer white distilled vinegar my friend likes good ol malt.
If you wanted to put some pickling spices in that tastes good too.
Good luck

[Vammadopper]

We had beetroot for the first time in our veg box a couple of months ago and regulary scince.

Im not particulary fussed about going round with dyed hands so I have always peeled it in clear water before boiling.
I just chuck it in with the potatoes, ( yep fun coloured potatoes ) when done drain, add salt pepper mixed herbs and olive oil and roast in oven for about 20 mins.

Another way is to fry onions and garlic till golden in a big pan, add peeled and cubed raw beetroot, cover in water and alow to simmer gently till all cooked making sure they dont go dry - we also chop up the leaves and add to the mixture and cook for a few mins just before serving

- or save them and cook like spinach but add a touch of sugar

HTH

[Cheezy]

Try raw finely grated in salads, nice.

Other things , makes great indian side dish, cut into cubes, and slow fry with onions,cumin, corriander, garlic, ginger and chillie for around 15 mins until onions soft, add a splash of water put the lid on and slow cook until tender, add half a teaspoon of garam massarla serve with fresh corriander.

Try roasted with garlic cloves, rosemary, balsamic vinegar olive oil, when your doing a roast. 40-50 mins.

[old tree man]

Thanks everyone i baked some and boiled some and while they were hot had a taste with salt and pepper mmmmmmm lovely, with what was left we pickled some.
and my next project is to try the curried version, thanks for that Cheezy, cant wait to try that one.
No wonder i cant loose any wieght all these lovely recipies around.

thanks
Russ

[pumpy]

Hello Ina,....it's only a receipe, not a debate about energy consumption. Thats another topic.

[snapdragon]

make up a red jelly (any flavour) with a pint of vinegar not water, cut the cooked beets, put em in jars and then cover with the jelly = jellied pickled beetroot

[Thomzo]

If you have a breadmaker you could try making some beetroot bread http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... ead#p53221. It freezes well too.

Personally, I have never had a problem with dyed hands. It seems to wash off with washing up liquid or soap if I wash my hands a couple of times. I often prepare the beetroot for bread before I go to work and my hands are clean by the time I leave the house.

Cheers
Zoe

[ina]

Hello Ina,....it's only a receipe, not a debate about energy consumption. Thats another topic.

I only pointed out that that was the reason why I wouldn't do it. A friend of mine does a lot of roasting - but then she has to have the woodfired range on all the time anyway, for heating and hot water. I think there are still people who don't realise how much energy cooking can use - and waste, if you aren't careful. And sorry, but I do have to keep that in mind at all times, no matter how nice it would be to have a few roasted veg occasionally. So I think, energy consumption should be included in your thoughts when you are trying to decide how to cook your produce! I'm sure keeping the oven going for an hour or so wastes more energy than leaving your telly on standby all week...

[Wombat]

Hello Ina,....it's only a receipe, not a debate about energy consumption. Thats another topic.

I only pointed out that that was the reason why I wouldn't do it. A friend of mine does a lot of roasting - but then she has to have the woodfired range on all the time anyway, for heating and hot water. I think there are still people who don't realise how much energy cooking can use - and waste, if you aren't careful. And sorry, but I do have to keep that in mind at all times, no matter how nice it would be to have a few roasted veg occasionally. So I think, energy consumption should be included in your thoughts when you are trying to decide how to cook your produce! I'm sure keeping the oven going for an hour or so wastes more energy than leaving your telly on standby all week...

Not if you use a solar oven, Ina!

Nev

[QuizMaster]