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According to the simplest method, beets are boiled in a saucepan for 40-50 minutes, depending on the size, without peeling before cooking.
Beetroot pieces will cook in 30 minutes.
How to boil beets in a saucepan
You will need – a pound of beets, water
- Select beets – about the same size, hard and slightly damp to the touch.
- When boiling beets, you do not need to peel them and cut off the tail. Carefully, using the rough side of a sponge, scrape the soil off the beets.
- Pour water into a saucepan and put on fire.
- Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 40-50 minutes, depending on the size. Cook very large and old beets for up to 1,5 hours. Just boil large, but young beets for an hour. If you grate any beets, they will cook in 15 minutes.
After boiling, it is worth checking the readiness of the beets by piercing them with a fork: you will understand that the beets are cooked if the finished vegetable is malleable without effort. If the fork does not fit well into the pulp, cook for another 10 minutes and check the readiness again.
- Pour the finished beets with cold water and leave for 10 minutes so as not to burn themselves when peeling and slicing. Peel the beets, they are boiled!
A quick way to boil young beets
1. Fill the beets with water 2 centimeters above the level of the beets.
2. Put the pan on the fire, add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (so that the cooking temperature is above 100 degrees) and cook for half an hour after boiling over medium heat.
3. Drain the water and fill the vegetable with ice water (the first water must be drained and filled over again so that it remains in the ice water). Due to the temperature difference, the beets reach full readiness in 10 minutes.
In the microwave – 7-8 minutes
1. Wash the beets and cut them in half, put them in a microwave oven, pour in a third of a glass of cold water.
2. Adjust the power to 800 W, cook small pieces for 5 minutes, large pieces for 7-8 minutes.
3. Check for readiness with a fork, if necessary, make it a little softer, return it to the microwave for another 1 minute.
More with photos
In a pressure cooker – 10 minutes
Place the beets in the pressure cooker, add water and set to the “Cooking” mode. In a pressure cooker, beets are cooked in 10 minutes, and very large beets – in 15. After the end of cooking, it will take another 10 minutes for the pressure to drop and the pressure cooker can be opened without effort and safely.
In a double boiler – 50 minutes
Beets are boiled in a double boiler for 50 minutes whole and beets cut into strips for 30 minutes.
Cubes – 20 minutes
Peel the beets, cut into 2 cm cubes, dip in boiling water and cook for 20 minutes.
Important information about boiling beets
– Beets should be properly put in unsalted water – because beets are sweet. In addition, salt “tan” the vegetable when boiled, making it hard. Salt a better prepared dish – then the salty taste will be organic.
– When cooking, it is necessary to ensure that the water completely covers the beets, and, if necessary, top up with boiling water, and after cooking it can be put into ice water to cool.
– If a bag is not used to boil beets, it is recommended to add a tablespoon of 9% vinegar, a tablespoon of lemon juice or a teaspoon of sugar to the water to preserve the color.
– To get rid of the strong beetroot smell, put a crust of black bread in the pan in which the beets are boiled.
– Young beet leaves (tops) are edible: you need to cook the tops for 5 minutes after boiling the water. You need to use the tops in soups and vegetable side dishes.
– You should choose beets like this: Beets should be medium in size, the color of the vegetable should be dark red. If you can determine the thickness of the skin in the store, know that it should be thin.
– Boiled beets are possible keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, after the beets will begin to lose their taste, they will begin to dry out. Do not store boiled beets for more than 3 days.