John Myers
The vegetable with the beautiful dark red color belongs botanically to the beet genus and is related to sugar beet and Swiss chard. Many people only know the tuber or root vegetable pickled from the jar, but it is worth trying beetroot fresh. Not only can it be prepared in a versatile and sophisticated way, it is also a real fitness booster, which is particularly good in the cold season.
Origin
The exact origin of the beetroot is not known. It probably descends from the wild turnip, which was already known in the Mediterranean and the Near East 2000 years ago. The Romans brought them to Central Europe. The beetroot as we know it today only came about through breeding around 200 years ago. It is mainly grown in Europe in regions with a temperate climate.
Season
Beetroot is a classic winter vegetable in Germany. The new harvest will be on the market from the end of September and will be on the market until spring. But even in the summer months, the beetroot is now available fresh.
Taste
Beetroot has a very special aroma that is slightly earthy and sweet and also tolerates strong spices and heat during preparation. Some sweetness and a dash of acid round off the taste perfectly. Ideal partners are therefore tart fruits such as apples or oranges. Prefer the smallest possible tubers, they are more aromatic than the often woody large tubers. By the way: There are also white and yellow beets, which taste a little sweeter than the red ones.
Use
Depending on their size, fresh tubers need to be boiled for 30-60 minutes. Boil them with the root and leaves in the shell. Otherwise, the color will bleed during cooking and the vegetables will become unsightly greyish. After cooking, rinse with cold water, then the shell can be easily removed. It is best to work with disposable gloves. Pre-cooked beetroots are particularly practical for quick meals. Boiled beetroot tastes z. B. pureed as a vegetable puree or cream soup, in stews, steamed in a little butter as vegetables, as the main ingredient of our beetroot vegetables or chopped up in salads, e.g. B. very classic in the herring salad. For our beetroot carpaccio, cut the beet again into wafer-thin slices. If you cook Labskaus, the famous seaman’s dish, the tuber is also essential. Try beetroot baked out of the oven. This makes it particularly aromatic. Bake either unpeeled like baked potatoes or peeled and cut into small pieces and bake on the tray with a little oil. Delicious with herb quark as a dip. Beetroot also tastes raw, e.g. B. cut into thin slices as a carpaccio, grated or diced in a salad. Pickled beetroot tastes great as a side dish, e.g. with boiled beef or Königsberger Klopsen or in salads. Beetroot juice tastes great as a drink mixed with apple or orange juice and mineral water and is ideal for naturally coloring pasta or cake dough. Also, try our recipe for beetroot juice! By the way: the leaves of the beetroot are also edible – prepared like spinach or chard.
Willing to experiment? Try the combination of beetroot and chocolate in the beetroot cake recipe! Our recipe for beetroot spread with chickpeas, walnuts, ginger, and cumin also brings out the special taste of the tubers wonderfully.
Storage
Stored cool and dark in a pantry or in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, the dark red tubers stay fresh for up to four weeks. In the classic way, they are preserved sweet and sour for storage and keep for up to a year. Only boiled beetroot is suitable for freezing. Because frozen raw, it becomes watery when thawed. Beets that have already been cooked can be kept well wrapped in the fridge for about 2 days.
