Beet
Earthy, sweet roots with often vibrant flesh, ideal roasted or pickled for striking color and nuanced flavor
Storage
Store unwashed roots in a perforated bag or container in the refrigerator’s crisper at 32–40°F with high humidity. Trim greens to 1–2 inches and store separately; use greens within a week. Check roots weekly for firmness and remove any with soft spots to prevent spoilage.
Keeps For
Up to three months for roots under ideal storage; greens 7-14 days refrigerated.
Flavor Profile
Raw beets have a crisp, earthy sweetness with a subtle mineral tang; texture is firm yet tender. Roasted, they develop intensified caramelized sugars and a silky, melt-in-the-mouth consistency. Beet greens offer a mildly bitter, Swiss Chard-like character, tender when sautéed but more fibrous if stems are left intact.
How to Prep
Usually cooked for the best flavor, but can be enjoyed raw when cut thinly or grated. To roast, wrap whole roots (skins on) tightly in foil or a sealed container to trap moisture (we like a Dutch oven), roast until tender (usually 40 - 90 minutes depending on thickness). Rub off skins once cooled. Alternatively, peel before boiling for 20–30 minutes until fork-tender—ideal for borscht and other soups. You can also pressure cook them with the peels on for about 40 minutes. We find that leaving the peels on tends to impart a more robust, earthy flavor.
Ways to Cook
- 1 Raw grated in salads with citrus, feta; adds bright tang and crunchy texture.
- 2 Roasted with olive oil and thyme until tender for an earthy, caramelized side dish.
- 3 Pickled thin beet slices with vinegar, sugar, and spices for vibrant sandwich toppings or garnishes.
- 4 Pureed beets enrich sauces, soups, and dips with vivid color and subtle, earthy sweetness.
- 5 Use in place of potatoes in most recipes for color and nutrition.
Pairs Well With
Good to Know
Watch for soft spots, sliminess, or off odors indicating spoilage. Beet skins can stain hands and surfaces. Overcooking yields mushy texture and dull flavor; cook gently until just tender for optimal taste and color.
Did You Know?
Beets trace back to ancient Mediterranean civilisations, originally cultivated for greens rather than roots. The vibrant red pigmentation comes from betalain compounds, valued for antioxidant properties. Farmers once brewed beetroot syrup as a sweetener before cane sugar and corn syrup dominated the market, but sugar beets still have a presence in modern food systems.
Recipe Inspiration
Common Questions About Beet
Why do beets taste like dirt?
It's a compound called geosmin—the same thing that makes soil smell earthy after rain. Some people are more sensitive to it than others, which is why your friend might love beets while you think they taste like a mud puddle. Roasting or pickling can mellow that earthiness. If you really can't stand it, golden beets tend to have a milder, less earthy flavor.
Can you eat beets raw?
Yes. Raw beets are crisp and slightly sweeter than cooked, with a more intense earthy flavor. Most people don't care much for big hunks of raw beet. Grate or slice them thin for salads—they're surprisingly good with citrus and a bit of salt. The texture is more like a crunchy apple than a cooked vegetable.
Should I peel beets before roasting?
No need, and it weakens the flavor. The skin slips right off after roasting—wrap them in foil, roast until tender, let them cool enough to handle, and the skins rub off easily with a paper towel. Peeling raw beets is slower and wastes more of the beet.
Should I peel beets before boiling?
If dicing, peel them beforehand. If cooking whole, treat it the same as roasting—leave the skins on. They protect the color and flavor during cooking. Peel after they're cooked and cooled slightly. If you peel beforehand, you'll end up with pale, washed-out beets and a pot of purple water. The liquid left over after boiling beets is sometimes known as "beet stock." It's a great place to start a batch of borscht.
Can you freeze beets?
Yes, but it ruins the firm texture. You can still use them in soups, juices, or dishes where you don't mind a less-than-firm texture.
Can you freeze beets raw?
Raw beets have high water content, and freezing ruptures the cells. When thawed, they'll be soft and waterlogged. If you're making smoothies or purees, you might not notice—but for any other use, cooking them first can help the texture a little.
How long do beets last in the fridge?
From the grocery store, sometimes the roots only keep a few weeks, and the greens, I wouldn't expect more than a few days. Locally sourced, fresh beets, if properly stored, can last 2-3 months in the crisper drawer. For maximum life, cut the greens off (including about 1/8" of the beet top). Keep roots unwashed in a perforated bag. The greens themselves, if fresh, will last 7 - 14 days. Always remove slimy leaves -- the rest are fine, and losing their slimy companions will extend shelf life.
How do you know when beets are bad?
Soft, wrinkled, or shriveled beets are past their prime but often still usable—just cut away any bad spots. Truly spoiled beets will have mold, sliminess, or an off smell. A little surface softness is fine; interior mushiness or rot is not. If they look wrinkly but not mushy, they have just lost their moisture. They will taste fine, but the texture is a bit different. Soaking them in cool water in the fridge for a few hours before cooking can allow them to regain some of that moisture and firm back up.
Are beet greens edible?
Absolutely, they're not our favorite green, but some people really dig them. They taste sort of like extra Earthy Swiss Chard with a firmer texture. Sauté with garlic and olive oil, add to soups, or use raw in salads when young and tender. They're not for everyone, so don't feel bad for throwing them away or giving them to a friend.
What's the best way to cook beets?
This is a topic of great debate amongst bubbes and babas all across Eastern Europe. In America, roasting is the go-to method for most uses—it concentrates the sugars and deepens the flavor. Wrap whole beets in foil and roast at 400°F until fork-tender (40-90 minutes, depending on size). Boiling works better for borscht or when you need them quickly. Don't bother steaming, it takes as long as roasting and dilutes the flavor like boiling.
Can you microwave beets?
Yes, it's actually one of the fastest methods. Pierce whole beets with a fork, wrap in a damp paper towel, and microwave until tender—about 10-15 minutes for medium beets, checking halfway through. The texture won't be quite as good as roasted, but it's a solid weeknight shortcut. Don't forget to pierce them, or they can explode. Be careful when removing them, because they can be hot like lava.
Why is my pee red after eating beets?
That's beeturia—totally harmless. The pigment (betanin) passes through some people's digestive systems without being fully broken down. It's genetic; about 10-14% of the population experiences it. If you're not sure whether it's beets or something concerning, think back to what you ate in the last day or two. You might also have red stool when you go #2, which can be a bit alarming if you forgot you ate beets.
Why is my poop red after eating beets?
Same reason as the pee—betanin pigment passing through. It can be alarming if you forgot you ate beets, but it's completely normal. The color can range from pink to deep red depending on how much you ate and your individual digestion.
What's the difference between red and golden beets?
Golden beets are milder and less earthy—they don't have the same intensity as red varieties. They're sweeter, don't stain everything magenta, and some people who hate red beets actually enjoy golden ones. Flavor-wise, they're a bit more subtle. Chioggia (candy-striped) beets fall somewhere in between. Honestly, if they're not beet "lovers," I think most people prefer golden beets, especially sweet ones like Badger Flame.
Why are my beets white inside?
Could be a few things. Some beet varieties naturally have white or lighter interiors—Chioggia beets have pink and white rings. It could also be a mislabeled turnip, rutabaga, or other root vegetable -- all of which are delicious and most can be used in place of a beet with a reasonable difference in overall flavor.
Can you eat beets every day?
From a culinary standpoint, sure. They're a vegetable. If you have specific health concerns—kidney issues or are on certain medications—that's a question for your doctor, not a farmer.
How do you get beet stains off your hands?
Lemon juice and salt work well—the acid helps break down the pigment. Rub it in, let it sit a minute, then wash. Cooking oil before you start can act as a barrier, but slick hands + knives = emergency room visits. Some people wear gloves, but honestly, the stains fade on their own within a day. We wear it as a badge of honor earned by cooking our own food.
What do beets taste like?
Think the sweetness and texture of a carrot with an underlying mineral quality, some describe as 'tasting like dirt.' The sweetness comes through more when roasted. Raw beets are crisper and more intensely flavored. If you've only had canned beets, fresh ones are a different experience entirely—more nuanced, less metallic. Boiled and steamed beets are less intensely flavored, particularly losing much of their earthier qualities.
Are beets and beetroot the same thing?
Yes. 'Beetroot' is the British term. 'Beet' is American. Same vegetable. In the US, we also grow sugar beets for sugar production, but when most people say 'beet', they mean the table beets you eat. Sometimes beets are sold as fresh with the root and greens combines and both are edible. I'd say 'Beetroot' is probably the better moniker. Score one for the Brits.
Can you boil beets?
Yes—it's the traditional method for borscht and many Eastern European recipes. Leave skins on, cover with water, simmer until fork-tender (30-45 minutes for medium beets). The cooking water will turn deep purple; some people save it to use as natural food coloring or a base for soups. If you want to cook the beets faster, you can peel and dice them, but you lose a lot of flavor.
How do you pickle beets?
Cook beets until tender, peel, and slice. Make a brine of vinegar, sugar, and spices (cloves, allspice, and a cinnamon stick are traditional). Pour hot brine over beets in jars. Refrigerator pickles last several weeks. For shelf-stable, you'll need proper canning methods like those found in the Ball Canning Handbook. You can also make a simple "lacto-fermentation" of beets plus two percent of their weight in salt. Again, we aren't food scientists, so please consult experts when making anything meant to be stable outside the refrigerator.
Why are beets so red?
Betalain pigments, specifically betacyanins. These are different from the anthocyanins that make blueberries blue or the carotenoids that make carrots orange. Betalains are pretty rare in the plant world—besides beets, you mainly find them in cactus fruit and amaranth.
Do beets stain teeth?
They can temporarily, especially if you're eating them raw or drinking beet juice. The staining isn't permanent—brushing clears it. Cooked beets are less likely to cause noticeable staining than raw juice or smoothies.
Why do beets make me gassy?
Beets contain fiber and certain sugars (oligosaccharides) that some people's digestive systems handle better than others. If you're not used to eating much fiber, your gut bacteria may need time to adjust. Cooking tends to make them more digestible than raw. When in doubt, consult your doctor.