How much to cook beets until cooked in different ways? Delicious, juicy and beautiful: the secrets of quick preparation of boiled beets for various dishes Boil beets with or without skins.

Beetroot is such a versatile vegetable that all dishes popular on the Russian table cannot do without it. Moreover, it is used both in the preparation of daily dishes - borscht, beetroot, and in the preparation of festive salads for a feast - herring under a fur coat, vinaigrette, beets with prunes.

This vegetable has a lot of vitamins, few calories, besides, the cost of beets is very affordable for every customer. But many are interested in the question, how is it possible to quickly cook beets so that all the useful vitamins remain in it during the cooking process?

Choosing the Right Vegetable

To properly cook beets, you must first choose the right root crop. Not only the taste of the dish will depend on the choice of vegetable, but also the time of its preparation.

• Firstly, it should be a table beet variety, not a fodder variety. Forage varieties are not as sweet as table varieties, moreover, when growing them, fertilizers that are unacceptable for human health can be used.
• Secondly, the root crop should not be very large so that during the cooking process too much time is not spent on its preparation.
• Third, you need to carefully examine the appearance of the beets. The peel of the root crop should be thin, dark red in color, without rotten spots and other external damage. The ideal option would be to buy beets from summer residents, since in this case one can hope that people planted beets taking into account their long-term preferences, taking into account all its pluses and minuses. If summer residents do not have the opportunity to buy beets, you can try to find beets with tops.

Important! The color of the tops and its juiciness indicate the freshness of the beets, in addition, the tops also contain useful substances, and it can be used in soups.

Ways to cook beets

To cook beets quickly and tasty at the same time, you can use several options.

Option 1 - classic th

Beets are poured with cold water and brought to a boil at maximum temperature. Then the heating power must be reduced and for another 2 hours, cook the beets on moderate heat. Although this cooking option takes a lot of time, it has a main plus - it retains all the nutrients contained in this root crop.

Option 2 - pour hot water immediately

To halve the cooking time of beets, unlike option 1, this option will help - the beets are poured not with cold, but with hot water, and cooked over moderate heat for an hour. At the beginning of cooking, pour 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into the water to increase the boiling point of the water.

Option 3 - a sharp temperature drop

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil are added to the water with beets, then brought to a boil, and then the beets are cooked at maximum power for half an hour. After this time, the pan is removed from the heat and cold water is added, keeping the beets in it for 10 minutes. Due to the sharp temperature drop, the beets are brought to full readiness. This method is very popular with professional chefs, but with this cooking method, there is no vitamin C left in the beets at all.

Option 4 - in a slow cooker

Cooking beets in a slow cooker is similar to the process of boiling beets in a saucepan, but the pluses include the fact that when cooking in a slow cooker, you do not need to constantly add evaporated water, and the cooking process itself is a little faster.

To do this, vegetables are placed in the multicooker bowl, completely filled with water with a margin of 2-3 centimeters, the “Cooking” mode is selected and cooked for 1 hour. If the time was not enough, after cooking it can be extended for another 15-20 minutes.

Option 5 - in the microwave

When cooking beets, you can use the microwave. To do this, the root crop is wrapped in baking paper, and cooked in a microwave oven at maximum power for half an hour. In the same way, the vegetable can be wrapped in foil and sent to bake in the oven at a temperature of 180-200 degrees.

But in this case, vitamin C will not remain in the finished vegetable either. You also need to consider that when cooked in the oven, the beets will turn out much sweeter than when cooked. Therefore, if excessive sweetness is not needed, then it is better not to use this cooking option. But it is great for salads.

Rules for cooking beets

So that the preparation of beets does not cause problems, you should follow simple rules. These rules are quite simple, but still there are always those who did not know any subtleties in cooking.

• Before cooking, the root crop must be washed well, but in no case should the skin be peeled, since when boiling beets without peel, the entire color of the beets will pass the water. It is only necessary to cut off the upper part in the area of ​​​​the tops, and leave the beet tail intact. Peel the skin before adding to the finished dish. If, however, the skin has been peeled, to prevent discoloration, pour 1 teaspoon of lemon juice into the water.
• If several root vegetables are required for cooking, you need to choose root vegetables of the same size. This is necessary so that they are all cooked at the same time.
• During the cooking process, you do not need to salt the beets, as they will turn out to be more solid and dryish. Salt also increases the cooking time.
• During the cooking process, the water will evaporate, and parts of the root crop will be constantly exposed. Due to the lack of water at the top of the pot, the part of the beets that is above the water may not be fully cooked. Therefore, water must be constantly added during the cooking process so that it covers all the vegetables completely.

Important! If you do not like the smell during the cooking of beets, you can put a piece of black bread in the water. Thus, the smell of boiled beets will not be felt at all.

• To check the readiness of the beets, you need to pierce them with a toothpick. If the toothpick easily enters the root crop, then the beets are cooked. In the process of cooking, you need to focus on the cooking time and on the size of the beets, and do not constantly try to check the readiness of the beets by piercing them. In this way, the beets lose their juiciness.
• In order for the beetroot to be better peeled, at the end of cooking it is necessary to hold it in cold water.
• So that the finished beets do not color the products of the rest of the dish during the mixing process, after cutting, the pieces of beets can be poured with vegetable oil.
• You can store the finished beets in the refrigerator for 2 days. After this time, the taste of the beets will begin to change, and the pulp will begin to dry out. After 3 days, it is better not to use unused beets at all.

Conclusion

Beets are a vegetable that should always be in the house. Despite the difficulties in its preparation and the time spent, it is a valuable source of vitamins and minerals. Despite the fact that it contains sugar, it is not contraindicated for people with obesity.

In addition, it lowers blood pressure, helps the brain function, cleanses the liver and kidneys of toxins. The presence of pectin in it reduces the level of cholesterol, removes radiation and salts of heavy metals from the body.

Caution with the frequency of consumption of this vegetable should be in case of problems with the gastrointestinal tract, and for people with high acidity of the stomach, it is not recommended for use. In other cases, adding this vegetable to the diet has more health benefits than harm to the body.

5

In order for boiled beets to be sweet and juicy, you need to choose the right root crops when buying. A quality vegetable has a small size and a beautiful uniform color.

The skin is thin and tender, without black spots and signs of wilting. The low price, ease of preparation and the possibility of storage make beets a popular product among housewives.

Despite the sweetish taste, beets are low in calories and have a beneficial effect on the digestive tract. It contains fiber and organic acids that promote the absorption of food, as well as:

• contains potassium, zinc, magnesium, iodine, iron and various vitamins;
• strengthens blood vessels and reduces pressure, supports hematopoiesis;
• It has a positive effect on the work of muscles, including the heart.

In general, it has a rejuvenating and firming effect, with minimal contraindications. Fresh green tops are very useful. In the summer, it is added to beetroot soup or botvinia soup.

How long to cook fresh beets

Cooking time is determined not only by the size of the root crop. It is also important whether he is young or old, and how long ago the crop was harvested. The use of modern kitchen appliances makes its own adjustments.

Until ready

Since beets can cook from 20 minutes to 3 hours, it is problematic to determine their readiness by a timer.

It is better to do this by hand, piercing the vegetable with a knife or fork and judging its softness.

Even with a long cooking time, most of the vitamins will be preserved.

young

Young beets are a seasonal commodity. It appears on the shelves in the middle of summer and is distinguished by the presence of green tops. These vegetables are very tender and delicate in taste. After boiling, it is enough to cook them for about 20 minutes. Then the hot tubers are poured with ice water and left to cool.

Fresh

Freshly plucked beets from the garden cook faster than old ones. During storage, the peel becomes thicker, and the core hardens and slightly dehydrates. The specific cooking time is determined in this case by the size of the vegetable.

Large

A large beetroot tastes almost the same as a smaller one. But it takes a long time to cook it, and for this the housewives do not like such specimens. Putting the vegetable in the pan, you need to tune in for at least a two-hour wait. Especially hard root crops can be cooked for a full three hours.

Without peel

Sometimes beets are pre-cleaned, although this is generally not recommended. Peeled beets cook a little faster. Medium-sized copies will be ready in 30-40 minutes. After prolonged boiling, a vegetable without a peel will acquire a brown hue. To avoid this, add vinegar or lemon juice to the water.

grated

When you need grated beets, it is better to cook them whole, and then grate them. If you grind it raw and then stew, then both the bright color and most of the vitamins will disappear. But this method has one indisputable advantage - the grated vegetable will quickly become soft and ready to eat.

in the soup

Beets for borscht are boiled separately, and then added to the pan before the end of cooking. But sometimes finely chopped cubes are added directly to the vegetable soup, where they will be ready in 10 minutes. To prevent the initially bright vegetable from becoming completely pale, the soup is acidified with lemon juice.

How to cook beets quickly

Before you start cooking root crops, they are thoroughly washed from the ground. It is not necessary to cut off the top and bottom of the tubers, you can only shorten the tail. It is also not recommended to trim damaged areas. This can be done later by peeling the boiled vegetable.

Classic way

The usual and familiar way of cooking beets is in a saucepan on the stove. Vegetables are placed in a bowl and filled with water so that it generously covers them. During long cooking, some of the water will boil away.

To reduce the evaporation of the liquid, cover the pan with a lid.

• Bring the water to a boil at the highest temperature.
• Then the fire is reduced to a minimum.
• At a slow boil, vegetables are cooked for an hour or two, depending on the size.
• When the tubers are easily pierced with a knife, the pan is removed from the stove and placed under an ice stream.

In cold water, the beets remain until completely cooled. Now it can be peeled and used in a salad or as a side dish.

How to speed up cooking

To make the beets cook faster, you can throw them into already boiling water and cook at a rapid boil without lowering the heat. An easy way to further increase the temperature of the water is to pour a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil into the pan, which will create a film on the surface. This preparation will take approximately one hour.

If time is very short, vegetables can be pre-peeled and cut into pieces. This will worsen the taste and appearance, but will reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes.

Young beets are prepared by a quick shock method: they are boiled for about half an hour and immediately poured with ice water. A sharp temperature drop brings the root crop to readiness. The whole process takes 40-50 minutes.

Different cooking methods

In an effort to diversify the taste of vegetables and quickly cook dinner, housewives use modern kitchen appliances. For example, roasting will give the beets a firmer texture and a sweeter taste.

in a saucepan

The traditional and easiest way to cook beetroot is to boil it in a saucepan. It is only necessary not to forget about root crops boiling for a long time on the stove. This process is always finished by immersing the vegetables in cold water. So they will not only reach perfect condition, but will also be better cleaned.

in the microwave

Salad recipes often feature baked beets. You can cook it in the microwave, it will take about 30 minutes. If the microwave does not have a lot of power and you want to speed up the process, put the beets in a plastic sleeve for baking. It will taste like boiled, but sweeter.

In a slow cooker

Cooking beets in a slow cooker is very simple. It must be washed cleanly, put in a bowl and turn on the “Extinguishing” or “Cooking” mode for one hour.

Readiness can be checked by piercing the vegetable with a fork, and if necessary, start the slow cooker in the same mode for another half hour.

Some wrap each root vegetable in foil and cook in the "Baking" mode.

In a double boiler

To steam beets, you will need a double boiler or slow cooker with a steam function. Whole vegetables are laid out on a wire rack, a glass of water is poured into the bottom of the bowl. After 40-50 minutes, check if the dish is ready. In this way, juicy beets work well.

If the roots are wilted, they can be soaked in cold water in advance or cooked on the stove in the usual way.

In a pressure cooker

It takes about 35 minutes to cook whole beets in a pressure cooker. You can pre-peel the vegetables and cut into strips. So they will cook faster, in 20 minutes.

The video provides instructions and some tips for cooking beets in the microwave.

Storage rules

If raw beetroot perfectly tolerates long-term storage, then when boiled, it loses this useful quality to a large extent.

• At room temperature, the cooked vegetable should be consumed within a few hours.
• Peeled beets will lie in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
• A whole vegetable in the skin and without cuts can be stored in the cold for a little longer, but usually after three days of storage it begins to lose its taste and health benefits.

At the same time, both fresh and boiled beets can be frozen in sliced ​​form. The shelf life in the freezer is much longer. Once defrosted, vegetables must be used; they cannot be re-frozen.

No doubt, everyone can cook beets. But in any case, questions arise that only experience can answer.

1. Cool down.

In all cases, without exception, immediately after cooking, it is recommended to put the beets under a stream of ice water. A cold shower not only cools the root crops, but brings them to the best degree of readiness and makes it easy to peel.

1. Do not salt.

The water in which the beets are boiled does not need to be salted. Salt makes vegetables firmer and longer cooking times. Ready beets will be tough and less juicy. Its specific sweetish taste does not require additives during cooking.

1. Do not clean.

Before cooking, beets are not cleaned and the top and tail are not cut off. Natural intact peel perfectly preserves healthy juice and rich burgundy color inside the root crop. Trimmed or peeled beets will turn whitish and watery and also lose some of their sweetness.

1. How to get rid of the smell.

When the beets are cooked for a long time, a not very pleasant smell arises in the kitchen. To neutralize it, it is advised to put a crust of bread in a pan with vegetables. And some housewives put beets in a plastic bag, and then in a pot of water.

1. How to check readiness.

Since one beet boils quickly, and the other much longer, readiness is checked by piercing the root crop with something. For this purpose, a knife, fork or even a toothpick is suitable. If the tip of the object easily and smoothly enters the pulp, the vegetable is ready. If not, wait another half an hour.

Don't poke the beets too often, as a lot of juice will come out of them.

Boiled beetroot not only decorates the table due to its wonderful color. It brings great benefits to the body, supplying it with the necessary vitamins and minerals. With very little effort, we get a great product that is suitable for salad, soup or a healthy snack. From the broth left after cooking, you can make a delicious healing drink by adding lemon juice, cinnamon and ginger to it.

Boiled beets are a welcome guest on the table of supporters of proper nutrition and those who want to find a slender figure. The product containing a large amount of valuable substances has a low calorie content - about 49 kcal per 100 g.

About the benefits

Almost all the nutrients contained in a raw vegetable are preserved during cooking, except for: ascorbic acid, folic acid and vitamin B5. Nevertheless, supporters of traditional medicine claim that after boiling the root crop becomes more useful than fresh. This is due to the fact that:

• the concentration of nitrates decreases - by about 50-80%;
• the amount of coarse fiber decreases - boiled beets can, unlike raw, be used by people with problems of the digestive system.

Most of the substances contained in the vegetable can withstand heating up to 110-190 ° C, therefore, they are preserved during cooking, although their concentration is slightly reduced. The table below will give an idea of ​​the benefits to the body of some of the substances in the composition of the heat-treated product.

Table - The composition and benefits of boiled beets

Component	Significance for the body
Beta-carotene (converted to vitamin A in the body)	- Improves visual function; - exhibits antioxidant properties; - accelerates regeneration processes; - supports immunity
Vitamin B2	- Strengthens immunity; - promotes better absorption of iron; - regulates the work of the thyroid gland; - serves the work of the nervous system; - supports visual function
Vitamin B6	- Beneficial effect on the state of the cardiovascular system; - regulates the balance of sodium and potassium; - prevents the development of urolithiasis; - Improves depression
Vitamin E	- Shows the properties of the strongest antioxidant; - improves the condition of blood vessels, skin, hair, nails; - Serves the process of hormone production; - lowers the level of glucose in the blood; - increases efficiency and mental activity; - maintains the viable state of the muscular system
Vitamin PP	- Serves redox processes; - supports the metabolism of proteins and carbohydrates; - activates the production of gastric juice; - exhibits vasodilating properties; - Serves the functioning of the nervous system
Iodine	- Stimulates brain activity; - reduces irritability, prevents stressful conditions; - supports the process of growth and development (in children); - improves the condition of hair, skin, nails, teeth
Iron	- Provides saturation of tissues with oxygen; - serves the conduction of nerve impulses; - supports the function of the thyroid gland; - improves brain function; - strengthens the immune system
Potassium	- Regulates water balance; - normalizes heart rate; - serves the process of conducting nerve impulses; - improves brain function by providing the body with oxygen; - maintains the viability of soft tissues
Magnesium	- Supports the function of the neuromuscular system; - normalizes the work of the endocrine and cardiovascular systems; - Helps maintain dental health - prevents calcium deposits in the gallbladder and kidneys
Calcium	- Serves the processes of blood clotting; - participates in the work of the neuromuscular system; - exhibits anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory properties; - stimulates certain enzymes and hormones
Copper	- Serves the processes of converting iron into hemoglobin; - Participates in the production of elastin and collagen
Phosphorus	- Supports the function of the nervous system; - participates in the regulation of acid-base balance; - helps maintain healthy bones and teeth; - Supports protein synthesis - necessary for the normal course of metabolic processes

Avoiding beetroot due to its high sugar content is recommended for patients with diabetes. The product is contraindicated for urolithiasis, with caution and after consulting a doctor, it is possible to include it in the diet for gastrointestinal disorders.

How to choose a vegetable

Fruits of medium size are suitable for cooking (no more than 10 cm in diameter). Also, when choosing a vegetable, you should pay attention to:

• freshness - there should be no damage, darkening, green blotches, traces of decay;
• skin - the thinner, the juicier the fruit;
• color - brightly colored fruits are most preferred;
• grade - table beets are used in cooking, fodder and sugar are inferior to this variety in taste characteristics.

Experienced housewives use Bordeaux beets for cooking. Root crops of this species have a flattened shape and a bright color. They cook quickly, are juicy and sweet in taste.

Cooking Tricks

Before heat treatment, the vegetable must be thoroughly washed. The root crop is boiled in the peel (with the exception of several methods), and the tail also does not need to be cut off, otherwise the finished beets will turn out to be watery and colorless. Here are six more secrets of the "correct" cooking.

1. "Reanimate" a sluggish fetus. If fresh beetroot has dried out a little, soak the vegetable in cold water before boiling. Such a fruit is best cooked in the traditional way.
2. Do not salt. Sodium chloride makes the vegetable firmer during the heating process, which increases the cooking time. You need to salt a ready-made dish of beets.
3. Keep track of the amount of water. The beets should always be covered with water during cooking, adding more liquid during cooking if necessary.
4. Add acid. Adding a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice to the water helps to boil the beets so that they do not lose their color. Acid can be replaced with a teaspoon of sugar.
5. Raise the temperature. Adding three to four tablespoons of vegetable oil to the water will help to quickly cook fresh beets in a saucepan.
6. Finish with cold "procedures". After cooking, hold the beets for seven to ten minutes under running cold water. This will help the vegetable "walk", and also greatly facilitate the process of removing the peel. You can also keep the boiled vegetable for several hours in the refrigerator. Another option is to send the fruit for 20 minutes in the freezer.

If the smell of boiling beets is not to your liking, "experienced" advise throwing a crust of rye bread into the water.

How long to cook beets until cooked

Different cooking options allow you to complete the process in a period of time from eight minutes to two hours. The vegetable itself can affect the cooking time in two ways.

1. Size. The smaller the fruit, the sooner it will cook.
2. Age. Cooking old beets takes longer than young ones.

It is impossible to determine the exact cooking time of a vegetable. The hostess must check the readiness on her own with a fork: if the device easily pierces the beets, then the cooking is over.

Unpeeled boiled beets can be stored in the refrigerator for two days. After this period, the vegetable loses its nutritional and taste properties.

8 cooking methods

How to cook beets so that they do not lose vitamins? Proponents of a healthy diet recommend resorting to the traditional method, since this method allows you to save most of the valuable substances.

Classical

1. To boil water.
2. Immerse the beets in a container, the water should cover the fruits by 5 cm.
3. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium.
4. After 40 minutes, continue cooking over low heat.
5. After an hour and a half, check the readiness, if necessary, continue cooking.

If you put the beets in cold water, and not in boiling, the cooking process increases to two to three hours.

Accelerated

1. Add three to four tablespoons of vegetable oil to boiling water and immerse the beets in a saucepan. Since water evaporates quickly with this method, the liquid should cover the fruit by about 8 cm.
2. On high heat, cook the vegetable for 20-30 minutes after boiling.
3. Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and soak under a stream of ice water. Due to the sharp temperature drop, the beets will “reach” until ready.

The method is only suitable for boiling young beets; old fruits cannot be cooked in this way.

In a double boiler

1. Chop beetroot without peel into large pieces.
2. Put in a steamer.
3. Cook 40 minutes.

If you cook whole beets in a double boiler, the cooking time will increase to one and a half hours.

In a slow cooker

1. Put the beets in the bowl of the appliance.
2. To fill with water.
3. Select the program "Cooking" or "Extinguishing" for an hour.
4. Check the readiness of the vegetable, if necessary, turn on the timer for another 20-30 minutes.

In a slow cooker, a vegetable can also be cooked using the steam function. Place the root crop in a grocery basket, pour a glass of water into the bowl of the appliance. Set a timer for 40 minutes. Young beets can be wrapped in oiled foil, placed in the bowl of the appliance and cooked for an hour in the “Baking” mode.

in the microwave

1. Pour three tablespoons of water into a glass container.
2. Put the beets in a bowl, placing large fruits around the edges, small ones in the middle.
3. Cover with glass lid or microwave hood.
4. If the power of the device is more than 1 thousand W, the vegetable will be ready in eight to ten minutes; in less powerful devices, the root crop takes twice as long to cook.

To reduce the cooking time in small appliances, you can cook beets in a bag in the microwave. The fruits must be folded into a baking bag (or a regular plastic bag) and tied tightly. Beets prepared in this way should cool at room temperature; you do not need to douse them with cold water.

In the oven

1. Wrap the beets in foil greased with vegetable oil.
2. Arrange the vegetables on a wire rack or on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 190°C for 30-40 minutes.

A baked vegetable is sweeter and juicier, so experienced housewives recommend cooking beets for salad this way.

In a pressure cooker

1. Put the vegetables in a bowl, pour boiling water.
2. Cook for a quarter of an hour at maximum heat after boiling.
3. Remove from the stove, but do not open the lid of the pressure cooker for another half an hour, the vegetable will “reach” and cool down a bit.

For borscht

1. Grate beetroot or chop into strips.
2. Stir in grated carrots, finely chopped onion and chopped tomato.
3. Simmer on slow gas until half cooked or until cooked.

Cooking beets in soup is considered a mistake by experienced chefs. For borscht, the vegetable is prepared either as described above, or baked or steamed and then cut into strips. Before adding to the soup, the ingredient is seasoned with lemon juice to preserve the color.

How to use

Boiled beets can simply be processed with a grater, chopped garlic to taste, seasoned with vegetable oil, and a healthy salad is ready. You can make the dish more savory by adding prunes or crushed walnuts. Here are three more original ways to use a boiled vegetable.

Cold borscht

1. Salt kefir (220-250 ml) a little and pour in two-thirds of a glass of chilled boiled water (beetroot broth can be used).
2. Chop two boiled potatoes and 100 g of boiled beets into strips.
3. Pour vegetables with kefir, add chopped dill, parsley and green onions to taste.
4. Before serving, introduce a finely chopped or halved boiled egg.

cutlets

1. Process with a meat grinder 0.5 kg of boiled beets.
2. Put the mass in a saucepan and stir in 50 ml of milk and a tablespoon of butter, simmer over low heat for five minutes.
3. Pour 40 g of semolina in a thin stream, constantly stirring the mass to prevent the formation of lumps. Without stopping stirring, simmer for another seven to ten minutes. Cool down.
4. Stir in 75 g of cottage cheese, egg and salt to taste.
5. Form cutlets and cook in a skillet, in a slow cooker, oven or steam.

This dish is suitable for a children's menu: a child needs vitamins and minerals for full growth and development, so vegetables must be present in the diet.

Salad

1. Free the apples from the peel and chop into strips or cubes.
2. Just like apples, cut boiled beets.
3. Combine both components, add a glass of crushed walnuts.
4. Season with mayonnaise or sour cream, add salt to taste.

Knowing how to cook beets quickly, you can easily diversify your usual diet with healthy dishes. And finally, advice for those who grow vegetables in their backyard: no need to throw away the tops, finely chopped leaves can be added to soups and salads to increase the taste and nutritional characteristics of food.

". Beets are one of the components of salads, such as vinaigrette or "fur coat", beetroot and many other dishes are prepared from it. However, it takes more time to cook than other vegetables. But what if there is no required amount of time? We present to your attention the secrets: how to quickly cook whole beets and more.

How much time is needed

The time to cook the beets until fully cooked varies from 10 minutes to 2 hours and depends on the size of the vegetable, its variety, the presence of salt in the water and the method of preparation chosen. So, for example, a flattened beet with a thin skin of a small Bordeaux variety will cook much faster than a large root crop of other varieties.

How to Minimize Boiling Time for Whole Beets

How to cook large beets quickly? If you do not have enough time, and you need to boil the beets, use the following recommendations.

Boil beets in a pan quickly

Way 1

• Place the washed root crop in a saucepan, cover with cold water, put on medium heat and cook for about 20 minutes. DO NOT SALT! Firstly, it is practically useless, and secondly, salt will make the vegetable more solid, thereby increasing the cooking time.
• Then drain the water and place the roots under cold water (preferably running) for a few minutes. After such a manipulation, due to a sharp change in temperature, the beets will “reach” to full readiness.

Way 2

• Significantly speeds up the process of adding cold water during cooking. Put the beets in cold water and put on a slow fire. When the water boils, add a small amount of cold water to stop it from boiling for a while. Then bring to a boil again and repeat the procedure. So cook until fully cooked.

Method 3: Microwave or Oven Cooking

• Pierce the washed beets with a knife (fork, toothpick) in several places.
• We pack it in a plastic bag or special dishes and set it for 10 minutes at a power of 800 watts.
• In the oven, beets of medium size at a temperature of 200 degrees are baked for 25-30 minutes.

Determine readiness

In order to determine the readiness of a vegetable, simply pierce the root crop with a sharp object. If the knife (fork, toothpick) easily entered it and the beets inside are soft, then the mission was a success.

Save color

How to cook red beets quickly?

• Boil the beets along with the tails and peel, without violating the integrity of the "shell".
• In order to preserve the color of the root during long-term cooking, add 2 teaspoons of table vinegar, lemon or sugar to 3 liters of water.
• If the beetroot was cooking for a vinaigrette and you don't want it to color the rest of the vegetables red, just drizzle the diced beetroot with any vegetable oil.

  Other ways to boil beets quickly

Method 1. Steam cooking

• Cut the washed and peeled root crop into cubes or straws.
• Place the chopped vegetable in the steamer. Ready time - 20 minutes.

Beetroot is one of the most favorite root vegetables of most families, because how many delicious dishes can you cook from it? Vinaigrette, herring under a fur coat, and one beetroot is worth something. But that's not a task, this vegetable is cooked for quite a long time, and sometimes there is no such time left.

Few people know, but the usual microwave is one of the main assistants in solving the quick cooking of beets. There are several ways to cook beets in the microwave. Here are two of the most popular.

The first way is using the package

For him, a medium-sized root crop or several small ones are best suited.

1. We thoroughly wash the beets from dirt, while the tail and skin do not need to be cut.
2. We take a dense plastic bag. If you take a regular one, it can burst and then the vegetable will not cook.
3. Put the prepared beets in a bag and tie with a tight knot.
4. We put our bag in the microwave, turn on the latter at full power, and set the timer for 20 minutes.
5. After the beep, we take out the beets, and leave it to cool. Important! With this preparation, the package may swell like a ball, but there is nothing terrible or dangerous in this.
6. We clean the cooled vegetable and use it in food.

Second way

For this method, a root crop of any size is suitable. His whole secret lies in cutting the beets into pieces.

So what needs to be done:

1. Wash the beets, remove the tops and tail, peel.
2. Cut into roughly equal pieces
3. Put the chopped beets in a bag and make a few punctures with something sharp to release steam.
4. We select full power, and set the timer for 15 minutes.
5. We cool the finished beets and use according to the recipe.

Important! Cooking time depends on the variety, degree of maturity and size of the root crop. The power of your microwave oven also plays an important role.

Boil the whole beetroot in a saucepan

How can you imagine a festive table without a herring under a fur coat? Is it possible to imagine this salad without delicious beets? So let's quickly figure out how to properly cook a delicious whole beetroot.

To do this, the root crop must be well cleaned and washed.

We are waiting for the water to boil, and carefully put the beets there.

We cover the pan with a lid, make medium heat and leave for 50 minutes, periodically checking the water level.

At the end of the cooking time, we check the readiness of the vegetable with any sharp object - a knife, fork, toothpick.

We shift the cooked beets into cold water until completely cooled.

We clean and apply according to the recipe.

A quick way to cook beets in pieces

When time is running out, and your beets are not yet ready, you can use this express cooking method.

For this you will need:

1. Washed, peeled and cut into equal parts beets.
2. A pot of water, the level of which should exceed the vegetable by 2 cm.
3. Put the beets on a small fire and cook for 20 minutes.
4. Check readiness.
5. Cool the finished root crop under running water.
6. Drain the water.
7. Further actions depend on the specific dish. But the beets are already completely ready for use.

The nuances of cooking beets in a slow cooker

What is the beauty of a multicooker for cooking beets? In this miracle device, our root crop can not only be boiled, but also baked. This is done quite simply, it only takes a little effort and time.

Cooking mode

If you want to cook beets in a slow cooker, then this is done like this:

1. A medium-sized vegetable or several small ones are selected, but always the same size. If your vegetables are different, then they can be leveled with a knife. Cut the root vegetables into equal parts.
2. Wash vegetables well before cooking.
3. Pour about 2 liters of water into the multicooker.
4. We put the beets in a special bowl for steaming.
5. We select the "Steam" mode and set the cooking time - 40 minutes.
6. After the beep, we check how ready our vegetable is. If the beets are difficult to pierce, then the time can be extended by another 15-20 minutes, depending on the degree of readiness after the first boil.
7. We put the finished vegetable in cold water.
8. We use it at our own discretion.

Baking mode

Do you want to experiment a little with the flavors of your favorite salads or just love healthy and delicious food. Then try not just to cook, but to bake beets in a slow cooker. It's not difficult at all.

So:

1. We take 1 medium beetroot or several small ones.
2. Wash and clean vegetables under running water.
3. Put the vegetables in a bowl.
4. Select the "Baking" mode and set the timer to around 40 minutes.
5. We are waiting for the sound signal and cool our root crop.
6. Enjoy the pleasant taste of beets.

Roasting whole beets in foil in the oven

Want to make your borscht even tastier? To do this, you absolutely do not need to run to the store for overseas products. It is enough just to play with the already existing set of vegetables. Simple try roasting vegetables instead of regular frying. And you can start by roasting beets in the oven.

Choose 1 medium or large beetroot. Even if you usually throw in a little beetroot, it should be borne in mind that after baking, the vegetable will lose about 1/3 of its mass.

Wash and clean your root crop, wrap it in foil.

We leave our vegetable in the oven for 1.5-2 hours at a temperature of 200 C.

We take out the beets, cool and enjoy the new taste and aroma.

Secrets and tricks when cooking beets

1. It is better to put the prepared vegetable in water that is already boiling.
2. You do not need to throw salt, replace it with half a tablespoon of sugar.
3. Add the juice of one lemon to keep the color vibrant.
4. Water for cooking can be added in stages, pouring in a portion of cold water every 15 minutes.
5. After cooking, the root crop can be cooled under running water or put in the freezer for a short time.