Beet It!

This is your chance to tell us your love of, your hatred of, your gaggy, your wonderful, beet stories. Have a picture of a baby smeared with beets? Leave us a link here in the comments. Leave us recipes, or links to them.

I Hate Beets stories are welcome here, too, but mostly, tell us why you love beets! We wanna hear about red flannel hash and beet chocolate cake and pickled beets and borscht and Harvard beets and beet juice and beet salads and beet-greens-with-bacon, and family memories and family recipes.  

One of my favorite stories about beets is one I read in a memoir about the Holocaust. I cannot remember whose memoir it was anymore, but I remember the beet story -- how 'bout that? The author told a story that there was only one person she knew who came back from the Holocaust in better shape than he went in -- he was a person who had suffered all his adult life from ulcers and was sickly and underweight when he went to the concentration camp. When he returned, he was the picture of health. He said the only thing they had to eat was raw beets, and they served to heal his ulcers, so he ended up getting healthy and strong and was able to survive the camp and come home, to everyone's surprise.

Here's a link to my aunt's "famous" pickled beets. I make the family pickled beets now, and if I don't bring them to every holiday dinner, I'm in TROUBLE. If you think you don't like beets, pickled beets might be your entrée into the world of loving beets. They are sweet-sour, with a lovely pickling spice mix -- cinnamon, cardamom, [I think] cloves, mustard seed, bay.... I don't know all that's in it, but it's mmmmmmm.

Pickled beets are wonderful on their own, and they are wonderful thrown in salads, eaten with cottage cheese, thrown into a potato salad (it makes pink potato salad -- perfect for a bridal shower IMHO), eaten straight from the jar!!!  

I only planted a small plot of beets this year (half of a 3X3-foot grow bed), and so if I don't get on the stick and plant more, I will be IN TROUBLE because I won't have any to pickle. One year I cheated and bought beets at my green grocer, but last year I tried that and they had a terrible beet-growing year and there weren't enough there, either. So two days ago I planted another plot of them for a late-summer harvest, and I'm going to plant even more in the next week or so. We love them!

The beets that were in the picture on Tuesday became this for dinner that night --

-- which, due to the limitations of home food photo styling, may not look nearly as good as it tasted, and I apologize for that. 

It was a locavore meal of a Boyden beef burger, a piece of Mad River Grain bread from the Red Hen Bakery* (though as I mentioned the other day after my visit to the research farm, it is unlikely that the flours in this bread are Vermont-grown), and our own beets and beet greens and onions. I boiled the small beets and slipped the skins off to serve them with the greens which had been braised with our young onions in a small bit of grapeseed oil and sprinkled with just a few drops of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. 

Beet greens might be a bit of a hard sell to people who don't like greens, but I love them. When I grew up, my mother would boil them in the baby stage with the baby beets still attached, and with a small piece of salt pork added. I still love them that way. I often love to cook a couple pieces of bacon, then braise the greens in some olive oil with garlic and onions, and then fold in the bacon pieces and then sprinkle with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. These are tricks to deal with greens that can sometimes be a bit bitter. They're the same tricks I use with dandelion greens. Beet greens are not as bitter as dandelion greens, but they are more bitter than spinach. Baby beet greens are not bitter, and are wonderful fresh in salads, and are a fabulous addition to mesclun seed mixes.  

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*I eat almost no grains, but a loaf of this scrumptious bread is an almost-weekly treat nowadays. It is soooo good, and I keep the size of the slices to a minimum, and we make a loaf last at least three days, hard as it is to hold back from eating the whole thing in one go. 

Comments

[Kelli]

I love love love beets!!! They're delicious! (and if you don't like them, that just leaves more for me!) :)

[jess]

Beets are the first food I remember loving! I used to garden with my grandpa and we grew beets and rhubarb (maybe I just remember the magenta foods?).

One of my favorite ways to have beets is a Georgian salad -- walnuts, grated granny smith apples, grated beets, tons of parsley, tons of garlic, lemon juice, and a touch of either mayo or plain yogurt. Russian vinigret salad is also a favorite. :)

I am going to have to try pickled beets soon, I think. Hopefully my beets are growing well. :)

[Julie]

I used to think I didn't like beets because I'd only ever had either pickled (too much vinegar causes my stomach to hurt) or commercially canned. Several years ago while visiting at my sister's house she prepared some fresh beets just boiled until tender and I was instantly won over. Most commonly I prepare them that way dressed with a splash of olive oil, seasonings and goat cheese or orange sections, sometimes I saute them with garlic and walnuts.

[Kell]

My story is one of irony. I have yet to acquire the taste for beets in any form, raw, juiced, roasted or pickled.

I do however love to cook beets and won a blue ribbon in the NJ state fair for my pickled beet recipe.

Go figure! ~ksp

[Donna]

My daughter roasted whole beets and then sliced them and served them with crackers and cheese on the side. I wanted to forget the dinner and eat all the beets!!!!

[Joannah]

Love beets! Love them boiled, but really love them roasted. I gave my favorite recipe in the comments yesterday, but I'll repeated, cause its yummy. Roasted beets (you can toss them with olive oil, or not depending on your mood)+ thinly sliced vidalia onion + goat cheese (feta is also good)+ toasted walnuts (I bet other nuts, toasted would also be good ... like hazel nuts), I bet orange pieces, or orange vinegrette would be good). Where beets are concerned my rule of thumb is canned beets = the witness protection program; roasted beets = yum. I wonder...would roasted beets be good with a glaze of maple syrup, or would that be gross? Maybe a maple vinegrette?

[gayle]

I need to try roasting beets... I like them any way I can get them, but roasting might be the lure that brings my husband into the love-beets camp.

[Carole]

I love beets, doesn't matter how they are prepared.

[margene]

Smith's new beets have already peeked through the ground. We've already learned we can plant many more in a row than we had. Next year they'll be coming up by the hundreds! Pickled is a good way to go as beets are flat without vinegar, lemon or salt. The beet greens we had right off the homegrown plants were very delish. We can't wait for more.

[Bev]

After spending nights at the dinner table with everyone having left and my one slice of pickled beets saturated with salt waiting for me to gag it down so I could get up, I swore that I would never, ever, never eat beets again.

I have lived up to my childhood promise, although I have had beet juice mixed with freshly squeezed orange juice and it wasn't bad. You all can eat all the beets you want!

[Joansie]

Interesting to read everyone's stories. Pickled beets with "tourtierre" at Christmas brings very fond memories of my aunt. I love beets so much that I once purchased two bushels from a local farmer and processed them to last through the winter.

[Cathy]

I love beets!!!! And that surprises all my friends as my whole life I have been a picky eater and getting pickier in my old age. Don't like pizza, or anything Italian or Chinese or sauces/gravies on anything,or pasta BUT I love beets.....there, I said it!!!!

[Elizabeth in VT]

I was indifferent to (canned) beets until someone cooked fresh ones (a very long time ago). I can testify to the goodness of the pickled beet recipe, and a recent visitor claims that they are better than the Polish pickled beets that she buys from a local person in her town.

Thanks for the hints about preparing/eating the beet greens, and thanks (Margene) for the notion that beet plants can be closer (I have a small garden). When the rain stops I'll plant some more seeds. Actually, when the rain stops I think I need to make another garden space. I underestimated the amount of space I'd need for spinach, swiss chard, and beets!!

[Adrienne]

I never tried beets until I was in my early 30s... my mom used to eat them and it always disgusted me how they dyed everything pink. Then a friend of mine was singing the praises of the beets they put on a salad at a cafe here. "I can't believe I'm pimping beets!" he said. LOL. So I tried them.... YUM! But those particular pickled beets are the only ones I love. I tried making some mustardy ones at home last year and they were good, but not great. I need to try again with a different recipe. As for the greens, I *loved* those, I am a pretty big greens fan and the beet greens were great.

[Heather G.]

I was so confused as to why everyone seemed to hate beets! Our family always adored them (mom would boil them, peel them, then sprinkle them with a bit of brown sugar and just briefly reheat) I love the greens and the stems too!

Then I discovered that all these people were eating canned beets? Gross. No wonder!

I too am going to have to get more info on roasted beets... I am intrigued.

[Elizabeth]

We always had pickled beets on hand when I was growing up but what I really want to say here is:
There is no butter on that bread!

[Laurie]

Maybe I would like the greens better than the actual beet? I do tend to be a fan of greens.

I'd been mulling over my beet-hate thing, wondering if my re-introduction to beets had been a flop because the friend who served them in a lovely salad, and also roasted as a side dish, just really isn't a very good cook. But...no...I also remembered the Ukranian wedding we attended in April where a traditional beet salad was part of the reception meal. Everyone was swooning over it...I took one bite and almost gagged. Sadly...beets just aren't for me. :-(

[Mel]

I chopped up a golden beet with last night's roasted veggies. David will eat them in small quantities, but I'm very fond of them now. It wasn't always so, though. As a kid they were on my list of not-so-fave foods, though never as far down the list as okra (which is still way down there) and rutabaga (which is also faring much better these days).

[Cathy R]

I adore beets, almost any way I can get them!!

Funny beet story for you: I was once making "beet bread" (just like potato bread but you use beet puree instead of potato puree). I was making a double batch, so as you could imagine, there was beet EVERYWHERE (I was covered up to my elbows in drippy beet juice).

Of course, at that point, the doorbell rang. I had the kitchen window open, and there was no window screen at the time (bizarre hurricane story), so I simply leaned out of the window and said hello to the poor hapless salesman/religius preacher/whoever.

I kind of forgot that I was covered in beet juice and had a big knife in my hand. The poor guy just yelped and ran away as fast as he could.

I never did find out what he was selling.

[Vicki]

I had hoped to keep the beet beat going yesterday by blogging my beet tzatziki sauce, but only managed to get the photos taken and uploaded to Flickr... hopefully (I'm working on it) (what am I doing over here?) TODAY!

[Brandy Fenenga]

In one of Jamie Oliver's first cookbooks he has roasted beets with majoram and olive oil. Very yummy with grilled salmon and it's one of our staples while camping--easy foil packet stuff.

[Cheryl S.]

I never really ate anything other than canned beets as a kid, and then only on rare occasions - didn't care much for them. It wasn't until my ex-MIL made fresh beets boiled and then sauteed in butter that I learned to really like them.

The pickled beets recipe sounds wonderful, but I'm afraid I'll never make them. I've never canned anything, and have no interest in doing so.

[Hester Sturrock]

Oh heck, I even loved canned beets. As a kid, (around age 10) I would take a can of beets from the cupboard, heat them up, put margarine on them (we didn't eat butter in those days) and sprinkle them with salt & pepper and chow down.

I love to have slices or cubes of beets in a fresh salad. I always add them to my salads at the local salad bar - they are heavy and add to the cost, but they are worth it!

Someone on the web, I don't remember who at the moment, but I imagine this can be googled, was going to have knitters knit up 100 yarn beets and send them to Rainn Wilson who plays Dwight Schute on the TV show The Office. I thought you needed to know this since we are having an expression of pleasure regarding beets today.

Best (or Beets?) Hester

[Kayten]

I read this post and the comments while happily chowing down on a bowl of cold beet greens cooked in olive oil with onions, garlic, and black pepper which were left from last night's dinner. I am now going to slip the peels off the pot of beet I cooked last night and make some sort of vinegary stuff to steep them in for a day or two.
My husband doesn't like beets, but will eat the greens.

[Allison]

I love beets! Borscht was the first cold soup I really liked, and I love love love beets with goat cheese and toasted pecans on a salad. I'm not a huge fan of them "straight up". I sympathize with people who think they taste too earthy. Don't get me wrong - I'll still eat them, I'll just wish I had a little something to pair with them.

[Bonney]

I have always loved beets. Here's my favorite way to serve them. Boil, slide off skin, slice beets and set aside. Take one or 2 bunches of swiss chard or baby spinach (wash etc.) and put in skillet with 1/2 inch of water and a splash of olive oil. Cook till very wilted. Put a serving of swiss chard on a plate, top with beets and a few dabs of goat cheese. I use a citrus vinegar oil dressing but anything really goes. I serve it at room temperature. Yummmmmm

[Ruth]

My husband thought he hated beets until I fixed some baby beet greens (steamed until just wilted and still a tiny bit crisp, then tossed with apple cider vinegar, salt and loads of butter). After that, he broke down and tried the actual beets. Last weekend, he picked up a bunch of organic beets in the grocery store and he asked last night, "Why haven't you cooked those beets yet? I love beets."

[Mary K. in Rockport]

Baby beet greens with the baby beets still attached are the yummiest things ever.

[Julie]

I'm not a big fan of beets but my husband loves them, after years of having to be coaxed to try them. Anyway his favorite is a salad of roasted beets mixed with cooked grain, raspberry vinagrette and feta or goat cheese. The original recipe is from a vegan cookbook by Lorna Sass but we pretty much wing it now as you can see from the cheese it probably isn't very close the the original anymore. I think it is the cooked texture that I don't like because I do like them shredded and mixed with carrots in a quick stir fried side dish or carrot/beet salad. I've used one recipe that had a bit of a sweet edge to it and red beets but this summer I'm going to try it with various kinds of beets and various versions of carrot salad. Local farmer's market opens tomorrow now I'm really hoping for beets.

[Elaine]

Beets are simply not a favorite.... I don't dislike them, but if I never ate another one I wouldn't ever miss it. Too many other delicious veggies out there!

[Cookie]

Lovely!

Beets with some goat cheese on a bed of sexy greens with an herb vinaigrette gets me every time.

[Margaret in Ontario]

My family only ever had canned ones, and I didn't mind them, but last year I got some fresh ones and cooked 'em up, and wow! Love them! Kinda love the whole business of slipping off the skins, too, the earthy stainy mess of it all. (Though I understand why my mum, with five kids, just opened a can.) And the greens in a stir fry! Yum!

Last Christmas a friend gave us a jar of pickled beets and they were...well, not great, but interesting. I suspect there may be better pickled beet recipes out there. (Same goes for cheesecake--I don't think I've ever tasted a really great one, but some are good enough to make me believe there may be one just around the corner that is transcendental...)

Now, Gardening Question #1: How do you know when the beets are ready? Or is it like radishes, they show their shoulders and you pull up an experimental one or two and just see?

Question #2: How are your potatoes-in-a-bag doing? Got any pics? (with Mr. J of course!) And how do you know when THEY'RE ready? Mine have basically exploded into this huge mass of foliage, which is now starting to flower. All very new territory for me...

[Lynn]

OK - So I have to admit I have NEVER eaten a beet in my life!

But I find humor in the title, "Beet It" since tomorrow will be the one year anniversary of the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. One of his biggest hits was "Beat it".

[sandy]

Well. You already know my love of beets. And? I've said it before but it bears repeating...If you roasted a car bumper with olive oil and salt, it would be delicious. I stand by that assessment and proclaim my love of roasted beets! When they are tender, I slice them, butter and salt and eat. And eat. And eat them.
Beet greens are also a fav, just steamed up and enjoyed.
Canned beets should be banned. They give beets a bad name!
LX

[Knitnana]

I roasted fresh (from the farmer's market) beets last night with olive oil and rosemary. I was cooking two night's worth of food while the oven was on, finished and turned the oven off, and left them to continue the last bit of cooking in the hot oven while I ate. Completely forgot them! When I took them out at bedtime I was saddened to see how they'd shriveled. They're probably fine - I intend to warm them a bit and mix with feta, walnuts, and balsamic vinegar for a quick, post-yoga-class meal tonight.
I LOVE beets!

(The best beet recipe I've ever had is a tossed together 'beets-in-place-of' potato salad my yoga teacher brought to a potluck - as usual, that recipe can never be recreated)

[Jen]

I love beets too! I'm in a medieval reenactment society, and we actually did an Ancient Roman feast. Here's the recipe I created for that, it is DELICIOUS.

Betas: Roasted beets with raisin wine

From Apicius: “To make a dish of beets that will appeal to your taste slice the beets with leeks and crush coriander and cumin; add raisin wine, boil all down to perfection: bind it, serve the beets separate from the broth, with oil and vinegar.”

Serves 12

1 1/4 pound beets
About 3/4 cup red raisin wine (Passito or Commandaria), or a fruity Merlot
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon coriander

Preheat oven to 350. Wrap whole, unpeeled beets individually in foil. Roast beets for 1 hour. You can tell they're roasted when you can stick a paring knife through the foil and right into the beet.

Peel (rub the skin off) and cut into 1/4 inch rounds.

Bring Passito wine to a boil, and then bring to a simmer. Add salt and spices and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until the alcohol is boiled off. NOTE: If using a wine that is not a raisin wine, add a half teaspoon of sugar, or to taste, to sweeten the dressing.

Combine beets and dressing. Can be refrigerated up to 5 days. Serve room temperature or warm.

[Andrea in Argentina]

Sorry if this is a repeat (haven't gone through all the comments), but mashed beets mixed with cream cheese make a great dip.

[marianne]

WoW. Load O'Beet Lovers!
The Georgian salad sounds really good, I might give that a try for my first real beets ;^)

[Jean E.]

I love beets!

[Carol]

Look at everyone coming out to vote on beets! I have no story to compete with that holocaust one but I am glad I like them since they appear to be so healthy.

[elizabeth a airhart]

my mother made fresh harvard beets
the sauce was fresh and good

one does not use the big old beets
and lightly cooked so one may slip
the skins off and yes sliced up
for salads- you need to put the
beets into a grinder to make relish

i do not like the little diced beets
in a can and hope one does not
drop the beets on the white table cloth

[noonie]

so over there you call them beets? And we call em beetroot... or do y'all just shorten the word all the time?

[Sunnyknitter]

I have only ever had Harvard beets, that's beets in a tin with this gelatinous sauce, that my mum always served with meatloaf and scalloped potatoes. Dis-gusting!! They turned me off beets for life, I thought, until I read this. Now I may have to try some fresh ones...

The only other veg that I can't stand is fetal cabbages (brussel sprouts) and I keep hearing that those are wonderful fresh too. I know as a kid I could fit about seven in my mouth and ask to go to the bathroom...

[Heather]

I didn't really eat beets until I studied abroad in Russia for 2 semesters. The family I lived with used beets a lot and some were good, others less tempting.

Borscht, beet salad with sour cream and herbs. My favorite is a potato salad with beets called Vinagret.

Boiled potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, pickles, I use olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. The longer it sits the more tasty it gets. It is definitely better the second day.

Thunder is overhead so I'll go for the night.

[Lori on Little Traverse Bay]

It looks like all the best blogs have picked up the beet! ;)

[Annie]

Beets tast like dirt to me. Or what I imagine dirt tastes like. They are one of those foods I wish I liked, because they are so nutritious. I had beets in a mesclun mix once, and I ended up not being able to eat any of it because of the beet greens. They ruined the whole salad for me.

[Dawn]

I love to make beet pickles in the summer. They make the prettiest can goods. I have shared them with my friends at our local fiber festival. I like to eat them in salads, and roasted. They are also good sliced thin and fried crisp like a potato chip.

[Judy]

I have loved beets since before I can remember. My grandmother always told the story that she fed me beets as a baby. When my mother took me home and changed my diaper.... oops, she thought I was sick and called my grandmother. Seems it was the beets.

I visited my grandmother when she was 85, and she still remembered I loved beets. RIP Mimi. Love you!!