How and how much to cook the beets?

Before boiling, the beets must be thoroughly rinsed, but not peeled. Cutting off the tail is also not recommended. Otherwise, the beets will lose color and some of the nutrients. If there are significant contaminants on the surface, then they must be removed with a brush.

Beets are cooked in several stages:

• first, water is poured into the container (enamel pan);
• the amount of liquid must be calculated in such a way that the beets are completely immersed in water;
• the water is brought to a boil;
• beets are laid in boiling water (in this case, the fire must be reduced);
• it is better to close the pan with a lid;
• you can check the degree of readiness of the beets with a sharp object (knife, fork).

You can cook beets not only in a regular saucepan, but also in a multicooker or double boiler. There is no need to peel the vegetable for any cooking method. In a multicooker, beets are cooked in the “Cooking” mode also with the addition of the required amount of water. The liquid should not only cover the vegetable, but also exceed the level by 2 cm. During the cooking process, the water will boil away. If necessary, the liquid can be topped up during the preparation process. Otherwise, the beets will be partially cooked.

The nuances of cooking beets:

• it is recommended to add a small amount of lemon juice to boiling water before spreading the beets (it is better to squeeze fresh lemon on your own, and not use ready-made additives);
• after the end of the cooking process, the beets must be poured with cold water (this way it will cool faster);
• for cooking, it is better to take beets of the same size (it is not recommended to cut them for cooking);
• vegetable oil will help the beets to cook faster (you need to add a small amount of it before placing the beets in the pan).

It is not necessary to salt the beets during the cooking process. During the boiling process, the salt will evaporate, so there is no point in adding it. It is recommended to salt the dish itself, to which the vegetable will be added, or add a little more salt to other ingredients with which the beets will be mixed.

Lemon juice is added to the beets so that the vegetable does not lose its rich color. You can also get rid of the smell of this vegetable. To do this, during the cooking process, you need to put a small crust of dry brown bread into the water. This ingredient will not affect the taste of beets, and the aroma will change dramatically.

How many beets are cooked

On average, beets are cooked for 30-40 minutes. In some cases, cooking time can take several hours. The key point is the size of the vegetable and its age.… Young small beets will cook much faster than large, thick-skinned beets.

In a pressure cooker, beets are cooked faster – within 40 minutes, in a multicooker – 30-40 minutes, in a double boiler also 30-40 minutes. Using any of these methods, you still need to check the readiness of the vegetable with a fork or knife.

The cooking time of beets is influenced by the type of water it is placed in before cooking. If you put a vegetable in a cold liquid and wait for it to boil, then the vegetable will be ready in one and a half or even three hours. Beets are cooked in boiling water for 50 minutes.

After cooking, it is recommended to pour cold water over the beets.… This should be done not only to cool the vegetable. The fact is that with a sharp drop in temperature, the beets reach their final readiness. The colder the water is, the better.

To speed up the process of cooking beets, you can use a trick (however, the risk of losing a significant part of the vitamins in a vegetable in this case is very high). The vegetable must be cooked over high heat, without covering the pan with a lid. After 25-30 minutes of cooking, the beets are poured with cold water and left for another 15 minutes. After such procedures, the vegetable is ready to eat.