How to cook old beets. How to cook beets so that they do not lose color

It would seem that there is nothing easier than boiling beets, but many, when faced with this vegetable for the first time, experience certain difficulties. It is for them that this simple instruction was written on how to properly cook beets so that they remain tasty, healthy and do not lose their color.

Right choice

Tasty and high-quality beets have a thin skin of a uniform dark color without greenish patches and visible damage. If, after peeling off the skin, you see dark red or burgundy flesh, then the vegetable is sweet enough and can be used to make any salad. Pale-looking, too large beets are most likely fodder, and its taste will be inexpressive, and the benefits are minimal.

How to cook beets - basic rules

1. Thoroughly wash the beetroot under running water, using a stiff brush in case of heavy contamination. In no case should you remove the skin from vegetables or cut off the tails.

2. Put vegetables in enamel pan Fill it to the top with water and bring to a boil over high heat.

3. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into boiling water, cover the pan with a lid and cook the beets over medium heat until soft, that is, depending on the size of the vegetable, from 1.5 to 2 hours. Readiness to check with a fork or a toothpick - if the flesh of the vegetable is pierced without difficulty, then it is already ready. By the way, lemon juice can be substituted. a small amount vinegar, thanks to the acid of these components, the beets will not lose their rich color during long cooking.

You can boil the beets much faster (from 40 to 60 minutes), but then you need to put them not in cold, but in boiling water.

4. Pour the finished beets for 15 minutes with ice water - this will make it much easier to clean.

An alternative to boiling is baking

Not everyone knows that in order for the beets after heat treatment to retain the maximum of their useful qualities, it is better not to cook, but to bake. You can do this as in microwave oven as well as in the oven. When using the oven, the washed and dried vegetable should be wrapped in 2 layers of foil and put in a heat-resistant form, the bottom of which is pre-coated with coarse salt (a finger-thick layer). Bake at 200 degrees for about 1 hour. When baking in the microwave, the beets just need to be wrapped in a heat-resistant plastic bag and after 25 minutes at maximum oven power they will be ready.

Shelf life

It is necessary to store the finished beets in a tightly closed container and not longer than 2 days, then it simply loses its useful and taste properties.
Of course, the most popular dish from beets - but sometimes there is absolutely no time to cook it. In this case, it is enough to grate the beets on a coarse grater.

Then sprinkle with vegetable oil, generously sprinkle with coarse salt and ground black pepper and eat with pleasure as cold appetizer. Easier and tastier meals can not found.

Well, now you not only know how to cook beets for salads and other dishes, but also how to store them ready-made

Nutrient properties, useful trace elements, availability and delicious color have made beets the object of close attention of culinary specialists from all over the world. Boiled beets are the main ingredient in many dishes. traditional cuisine: beetroot, borscht, vinaigrette, appetizers with garlic and prunes, vegetable cutlets. Let's discuss how to quickly cook whole beets in a saucepan.

The ability to cook beets correctly determines the quality of the whole dish. It's important to take the time heat treatment, preserve useful and taste properties, do not lose texture and color. Dozens of secrets of competent cooking are known, and this article is intended to reveal some of them.

Calorie boiled beets

Vegetables are low in calories and energy value. Should be used with caution by persons with diabetes with bowel disease, prone to indigestion.

The ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in 100 grams of boiled beets is indicated in the table:

The correct recipe for boiling whole beets in a saucepan

Usually beets weighing 150 grams are cooked for at least 2 hours. However, there is a way to save time:

To speed up the process, you need to choose small tubers with a thin burgundy skin.
Wash the vegetable, leaving the lower part of the tops and root. Without mechanical damage, juiciness is preserved.
Dip in boiling water for 30 minutes. To determine readiness, you need to pierce with a fork - this should be easy.
Place in ice water for 15 min. The temperature difference contributes to the rapid softening of the fibers. In addition, after exposure to cold water, the peel is easier to remove.

According to the instructions, the cooking time is 45 minutes, there is no destruction of vitamins and a significant loss of color.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW! If a fast cooking is the most important priority over maintaining juiciness, healthiness and color, the beets should be peeled and cut into large cubes before boiling.

Video recipe

How to cook beets so that they do not lose color

Both in the process of preparing borscht, and during simple cooking, to preserve the color of the beets after boiling water, add 0.5 tsp to the pan. table or apple cider vinegar. Instead of vinegar, you can add 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tbsp. l. fresh lemon juice.

Cooking beets in a bag in a saucepan

Cooking in a bag has 3 goals:

Prevent the appearance of plaque on the pan, which is difficult to wash;
Eliminate cooking odor
Preserve the color of the root.

Cooking steps in the package:

Place the beets in plastic bag, squeeze out the air, tightly tie as close to the edge as possible.
Put in a saucepan, pour water so that it covers the bag by 5 cm. Put on a strong fire.
After boiling, reduce heat, cover, cook for about 50 minutes.

NOTE! The usefulness of boiled beets in a bag is questioned: according to housewives, when heated, polyethylene releases substances that in large numbers capable of damaging health.

Videos advice

The benefits and harms of boiled beets

During cooking, microelements are practically not destroyed, so boiled beets are not inferior to raw beets in terms of usefulness. It contains vitamins PP, P, B, fiber, iodine, manganese, iron, cesium, rubidium, folic and oxalic acids, zinc, amino acids (valine, arginine, betaine).

Useful properties include:

Fullness of iron necessary for the process of hematopoiesis during the onset of menstruation in women and anemia.
Rich in fiber, which cleanses the gastrointestinal tract of putrefactive bacteria, enhances intestinal motility, contributing to the laxative effect.
Regulation of fat breakdown, reduction blood pressure thanks to the betaine in the composition.
Prevention of hypertension with magnesium.
Iodine helps with diseases thyroid gland.
High content antioxidants that support the functioning of the immune system.

Harm of boiled beets:

Acidity.
High sugar content, dangerous for diabetics.
Oxalic acid can aggravate urolithiasis.
Participation in calcium leaching, which is extremely dangerous for patients with osteoporosis.
Intestinal disorders.

Boiled beetroot is a vegetable on the basis of which culinary masterpieces European cuisine. It is included in the most effective diets for weight loss due to antioxidant and laxative properties. However, only a competent choice of cooking method will reveal the listed qualities to the fullest.

A festive table is rarely complete without such a wonderful vegetable as beets. However, many housewives experience fear and awe of this ruddy root crop, since its preparation usually stretches for a very long time. long time. But is this a reason to refuse your favorite vinaigrette or herring under a fur coat? In no case! We present you several ways to easily and simply solve the problem of how to quickly cook beets.

About the benefits of beets

In addition to the fact that beetroot has a bright unique taste, it is also surprisingly healthy. The cute vegetable is rich in many vitamins and minerals, such as: disaccharides, retinol, ascorbic and pantothenic acids, potassium, magnesium, pyridoxine, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, folacin, phosphorus, iron, niacin, etc.

The red root crop is used to prevent tumor formations, it is used to treat hypertension, rickets, arrhythmia and a number of other diseases, and increase immunity. In general, the information presented is quite enough to put beets on a podium, right?

Beets in a slow cooker

All housewives know that beets on the stove need an eye and an eye: whether the water is boiling, the vegetable is cooked, or it has not yet reached readiness ... In addition, many do not like the specific aroma of beets that hovering throughout the kitchen. However, all this can be easily avoided thanks to a great appliance that most housewives probably have in their kitchen arsenal. So, let's find out how to quickly cook beets in a slow cooker.

Wash the vegetables thoroughly, cut off the roots and the remains of the tops.
Place the beetroot in the multicooker bowl and fill with water so that it covers it by about a centimeter. You can cook root crops as a whole, or cut into pieces.
Close the lid and activate the "Cooking" mode for about an hour.
Dip the finished beets into cold water- so it is easier to clean.

Beets in a pot

Many probably now thought: does anyone know the secret of how to quickly cook beets in a saucepan? After all, it usually takes a lot of time! But no, even in a saucepan a “long-playing” vegetable can be cooked very quickly.

Rinse the vegetables thoroughly, rubbing the dirty places well with a brush. Tails and eyes do not need to be removed, otherwise juice will flow through the sections, but we do not need it.
Put the beets in a saucepan, pour cold water and put on a strong fire. When the water boils, screw the burner a little and cook the root crops for another 30 minutes.
Drain the boiling water and put the pan with vegetables under cold water for 10-15 minutes. Then turn off the water, wait 5 minutes and check the readiness of the beets with a toothpick. If she smoothly enters it, the vegetable is ready. If an obstinate root crop is caught, you will need to boil it for another 10 minutes and put it under cold water again. Such a contrast shower will soften even the most recalcitrant beets.

Beets in the microwave

Let's say you don't have a multicooker, but you don't want to mess around with saucepans. But there is one thing you will definitely find in your house - a microwave oven! And do not raise your eyebrows in surprise: yes, yes, we will reveal to you a terrible secret of how to quickly cook beets in the microwave. Such a beet will turn out sweeter than boiled, and will resemble more baked.

Wash the beetroot and, armed with a sharp object, give it multiple injections (you can add each time with the expression "Canal!").
Place the vegetable in a microwave-safe bowl.
Bake the beets in the microwave at 800 watts for 10 minutes.

Beets in a pressure cooker

Another super appliance in the kitchen is, of course, a pressure cooker. So if you are tormented by the question of how to quickly cook beets for vinaigrette, feel free to take this recipe into service.

Cut the washed root crop in two and put it in a pressure cooker.
Fill with cold water so that the beets are completely hidden.
Set the mode "Beans" for half an hour.
Within 11 minutes, the beets will warm up, 30 minutes will take the actual cooking, and 16 minutes will be spent on depressurizing.

Important nuances of preparation

choose medium vegetable dark red in color with thin skin.
Do not trim the stems, otherwise the beets will turn out watery and whitish. Remove the peel only if you are going to stew the root crop.
If you want a really tasty beetroot dish, add salt directly during its preparation.
To preserve the color, add half a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice, or a teaspoon of sugar to the beets after boiling.
To neutralize the odor, throw a crust of bread into the pan.
Use a fork, knife, or toothpick to determine when a vegetable is done.
Remove the cooked vegetable from the water and leave to cool.
If you do not want the rest of the vegetables in the vinaigrette to take on the color of beets, cut the bright root vegetable into cubes and immediately sprinkle with vegetable oil.
Do not cook beets together with other vegetables to avoid staining them.
Do not rush to throw away dried beets. It just needs to be scalded with boiling water, poured with cool water and left to swell. Then, without changing the water, send the vegetable to the fire.

Well, now that you know how to quickly cook beets, no excuses will pass. Use the juicy root vegetable to prepare your favorite dishes to the delight of yourself and your loved ones!

Beetroot is a healthy, but difficult to prepare product. Often, beginners fail to properly cook the root crop so that it becomes soft, but retains an elastic structure and does not turn into gruel. How to choose delicious sweet vegetable? How much to boil the workpiece so that it does not remain too hard and tough? What to add to the water for cooking to improve the taste of beets? And how to speed up the preparation of the root crop, but retain all the beneficial properties?

Perfect taste and quality

For salads, stews and first courses, small and medium vegetables are used. If the beet is too large and round, then it belongs to the fodder type. Such root crops are unsweetened and bland, boil for a long time and contain fewer vitamins than table options.

The basis for the vinaigrette is carefully examined. Instances with rot, green dots and pale skin are not worth buying. The right beet has a uniform, rich red or burgundy hue. Which varieties taste better? Round or oblong and flattened? Second. They are juicier and sweeter.

Checking the taste of the workpiece is simple: remove the peel from one vegetable or cut it in half. If the color of the pulp is bright and saturated, the root crop will turn out perfect salad. Pale beets tend to be bland and tasteless, like grass.

It is impossible to cook a workpiece with a damaged peel. But what to do with the control instance? Use to make freshly squeezed juice. Or cut into strips and fall asleep in a double boiler or slow cooker. The vegetable will soften in 20-25 minutes. The workpiece can be added to diet salad or interrupt with a blender with vegetable oil and salt. It turns out diet snack, however, with the minimum amount vitamin C, because ascorbic acid evaporates during steam treatment.

Preparing vegetables

Beet tails, unlike tops, are not removed. They play the role of a cork that does not allow the juice to flow out. If you cut off the lower part of the root crop, it will lose most of it during cooking. useful trace elements becomes pale and tasteless.

The beet billet is washed under a tap. The peel is gently sanded with a soft brush to wash off the adhering earth, but not damage the top layer. Root crops are not cleaned before cooking. The washed blanks are placed in a saucepan and brought to readiness.

Fast way

How to save an hour and a half and get soft juicy vegetable, whose peel is removed in seconds? Take advantage of the secrets professional chefs. It will take only two ingredients: boiling water and 40-60 ml vegetable oil. A plus large saucepan and a bowl of ice.

About 4-5 liters of water are taken for 2-3 medium root crops. If there is a lot of liquid and little food, the moisture evaporates quickly and heats up more. First, oil is poured into the boiling base. Stir, and after 3-5 minutes put the beets. They mark for half an hour, drain the liquid, and throw the hot roots into the ice.

The pulp due to temperature changes remains elastic, but not too hard. And the peel peels off and is easily removed even without a knife. The method has only one drawback. Ascorbic acid evaporates due to a sharp change in temperature. But in boiled beets, iron, potassium, beta-carotene and calcium remain.

Variant for vinaigrette

In order for the root crop to retain its rich color, it is placed not in hot, but in cold water. and add freshly squeezed lemon juice or table vinegar. Acid retains vitamins and coloring matter found in beet pulp. For 3-5 liters of liquid, 30-40 ml of the additive will be needed. And in order for the vegetables to remain sweetish, water for cooking is filled with 1-2 tbsp. l. Sahara.

Washed beets are placed in a saucepan and put on maximum heat. When the liquid base boils, note 2 hours. The container must be covered with a lid to raise the temperature of the water and speed up the preparation of root crops. A match is stuck into the workpiece. If it enters easily, remove the pan. Beets can be poured with cold water so that the peel is behind the pulp, but this is not a prerequisite.

If you want vegetables to become sweet without sugar and honey, then they need to be baked. First, bring to half-cooked in boiling water. Then take it out and put it on paper towels for 5-10 minutes to absorb moisture. Half-baked root crops are transferred to foil or a baking sleeve, sent to the oven. Choose a temperature from 190 to 250 degrees. The preparation will take from 30 to 40 minutes. Old beets take longer to cook, while young ones take longer.

To preserve vitamins, vegetables are brought to a boil at maximum heat, and then switched to the minimum temperature. The product languishes from 3 to 4 hours, always under the lid.
Cooking time can be reduced salt. Add 25-35 g of seasoning to boiling water, stir for 5 minutes. The spice purifies water from oxygen, due to which trace elements evaporate. Beets are placed in a salted boiling base. But so that it does not lose its sweetish aftertaste, sugar and a little vinegar are added.
Remove the characteristic beet smell can black or Rye bread. The crust is placed in a boiling base 30–40 minutes before the root vegetables are ready.
Boiled vegetables are stored only under the lid, no longer than 2 days. They quickly lose ascorbic acid and useful properties.
If the beetroot has become dry and shriveled, it is not necessary to throw it away. The workpiece is doused with boiling water, and then placed in warm water to swell the product.
The broth left after boiling the root crop can not be poured out, but used as a laxative and diuretic. Just add a pinch of cinnamon or a few tablespoons of lemon juice to the drink.

Beets are cooked different ways: in a saucepan, oven, double boiler and even microwave. The main thing is not to cut off the tails and peel when cooking, so that the workpiece does not lose vitamins and color. And dip the hot root crop in cold water or ice. Then the color of the product will be saturated, and the peel will easily separate from the pulp.

Video: how to cook beets quickly

Everyone knows about the benefits of beets, just like about its excellent palatability. What kind wonderful dishes you can cook from it! For the family budget, this vegetable is also good - its cost is quite affordable for everyone.

Usually, beets are used as an ingredient for salads - the famous, beloved by all, herring under a fur coat, etc. However, not all housewives may know how to cook beets, how long it will take, etc. In general, this is really not easy - after all, you need to not only boil the beets so that the beets are tasty, but also do it with minimal losses. useful properties. But let's be consistent...

Choose the right one

Knowing how to cook beets is, of course, good, but first you need to choose the right root crops. Delicious boiled beets are obtained if you select medium sized vegetables.

They should be colored as intensely as possible - the darker the color, the sweeter the beets. The skin of good fruits is dense, thin, without damage and rot, not wrinkled.

But the form does not play a role - there are good varieties and rounded flattened shape, and oblong elongated. Personally, I find it more convenient to work with long root crops that resemble carrots.

If there is an opportunity to see the beets in the context - use it. Often, in externally beautiful fruits, there are white streaks inside, which, even after prolonged cooking, remain hard, that is, such beets are not at all suitable for boiling.

Cooking

How to cook beetroot in a pot

The most affordable and proven way of cooking is in a saucepan. It's easy to do this:

wash well the roots of the same size, trying not to damage the peel and leaving tails;
we collect a sufficient amount of water in a saucepan, boil;
put all the vegetables in boiling water and reduce the heat;
cook under a closed or slightly ajar lid;
we check whether the beets are cooked or not with a knife (should go in to the middle with ease);
if ready, then drain the broth and immediately fill it with ice water.

After 10 minutes, the root vegetables can be peeled and used for the planned recipe.

The main thing in this whole process is to correctly calculate the cooking time for beets until cooked. An average of 50 minutes is enough. If the beets are small, then you can check with a knife after 40 minutes. Large specimens should be boiled for more than an hour.

In the water while cooking in a saucepan, you can add spices for flavor, lemon juice or vinegar to preserve color and 2-3 tbsp. sugar to make the vegetable even sweeter. And here's the salt experienced chefs do not recommend adding - the beets will turn out tough.

How to cook beets in a double boiler

If the kitchen has a double boiler, then it will not be difficult to cook beets quickly. This method is not suitable for all recipes, but only for those where the root crop must be cut into slices, cubes or sticks. Whole specimens are not prepared in this way, however, as well as those that should be grated.

We cut the washed and peeled beets as the dish requires.

We put it in a double boiler and after 20 minutes the vegetable is completely ready. It remains only to cool it and send it to the salad.

This method has a significant disadvantage. It should be understood that chopped beets will lose some of their juices during cooking.

We cook beets in a pressure cooker and a slow cooker

Such kitchen helpers as a pressure cooker or a slow cooker are also quite suitable for our purpose.

A pressure cooker is good because it reduces the cooking time of beets by almost 2 times. In all other respects, the process is the same as in the pan.

Multicooker in this case does not differ at all from a saucepan - the number of minutes is the same, the ingredients are the same. Unless you are lucky and this kitchen gadget has a steam function. Then you don’t have to think about how to quickly cook beets for vinaigrette - the advice about a double boiler is described above.

How else can you cook beets?

How much you need to cook beets, we figured out - it’s problematic to do it very quickly. But if you have a microwave, you can speed up the process. You may need this method for last resort. When, as they say, guests are on the doorstep. And you have nothing ready for the table.

Place the washed, unpeeled beets in a glass or ceramic container with a lid and add half a glass of water. At the highest power, cook for 7 minutes, then turn the root vegetables over to the other side and turn on the microwave for another 7 minutes. How to understand that the beets are cooked completely? Wait 5 minutes after switching off and check with a knife. If anything, turn on the microwave for another 2-3 minutes.

By the way, in a microwave oven you can cook beets in a bag - also one of quick ways. We just put the clean beets in a bag, tie it up, pierce it in several places to let the steam out. Cooking time - 10 minutes, then let the vegetables stand for another 5 minutes. I advise you to replace the bag with a baking sleeve - it's safer.

There are many ways to cook beets, as well as modern gadgets. But everyone can learn it. It remains only to try all the ways and choose your favorite. For a snack, recipes are different - choose and cook.

Video - cooking beets in a bag

In this tricky method, beets are placed in a bag and boiled in a pot. Thus, the vegetable does not lose juices, as when baking in the oven.