Learn How To Store Beets Rightly For Having Them Fresh At Any Time!

Beets boost the charm and nutritional value of every plate and if you have bags of them available, you must learn how to store beets properly to have them safe for consumption for longer. This guide is all about storing beets in different methods that you can choose from as per your convenience.

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The need to store beets

Beets are amazing and super healthy root vegetables that are rich in antioxidants that make them a popular choice of the people for being consumed in various ways like salads, pickles, smoothie, curry, etc. Although it is generally suggested to consume fruits and veggies when they are fresh and even the fresh farm-picked veggies are mostly endorsed by sellers. However, those who grow their veggies cannot consume the whole crop at once and it is here that the importance of learning the art of storing beets comes up.

Most of the root vegetables like beets, turnip, radishes tend to wither and wrinkle soon if not preserved and it is painful to see a bounty of harvest rot like that. Beet plants produce throughout the year but storing might still be needed for one harvest to be used till the next harvest can be made.

Need for preservation as per the beet crop

As we said, you can have beets the whole year depending upon the time you start the plants. We mean that you can have a beet bounty twice in a year by having two crops planted at two different times of the year. Here is how the crop season affects how to store beets from the garden:

Spring beets

You can have your beet plants started in the spring season and get the crop ready in early summers. However, it is not necessary to harvest all of the fruits at once as you can keep picking the big ones and the rest as they grow. Thus, the need to store the spring beets can be minimized but you only need to be vigilant about the fruits getting too big as their taste might get affected.

Fall beets

The beet plants can be started before the first fall frost to have a crop in the winters as this vegetable is frost hardy. The uniqueness of the winter beet crop is that it can survive the chill till 20 degrees F too and that’s how you can freeze-preserve them naturally. However, make sure that all the fruit is picked before the frost freezes the entire soil base or the crop will go mushy.

Selecting the good beets

If you pick the wrong beets for preservation, then even the best way to store beets won’t work out. Thus, it is very important that you only select the beets that are fresh and you can check for the same by looking for the following signs-

Green, bright, and wilt-free leaves
Skin free of blemishes and cuts
Taproot firmly attached
Deep maroon and bright color
Firm and small body

Don’t pick those beets whose taproots are very hairy as that indicates their old age. Even the larger beets should be avoided as they have a woody center instead of more flesh as you might think. Spotty, scaly, or leaf stems free beets shall be avoided.

When picking beets directly from the garden, pick them in the evening or before the temperature goes beyond 24 degrees F.

Preparing the beets for storage

At this stage, you need to ensure that the beets undergo come cleaning and decking up before they can be stored so that their shelf life boosts more and the method of storage works. Here are the tips to follow:

The leaves need to be removed as they attract moisture. With the help of any trimming scissors, chop off the leave stem as much as to leave 1-2 inches of it intact to the root.
You can skip washing the beets or just leave the roots unwashed so that they don’t rot at all. The dirt acts as a protective layer many times and it would be better to brush it off gently. Even if you wash, let them dry completely before shutting them in storage.
Don’t cut the tail off.

Method of storing the beets for a short time

Beets can be stored for shorter periods that can last up to one month and this best way to store beets is very easy. You just need to store them in the refrigerator by following these steps:

Take the prepared beets along with a plastic zipper bag that is freeze-safe.
Put all the beets in the bag and then poke some holes in it to allow any excess moisture to wick. This also helps better storage of the beets in drier and colder conditions.
Place the bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator or at any place where they don’t crowd out other stuff in the fridge.

Method of storing the beets for a longer time

You might have to do a little more preparations for storing your beets for a longer period and here is how to store beets from the garden in three different ways.

Freezing the beets

With the prepared beets, there are two ways you can freeze them:

Blanch and freeze- Start with boiling the beets for around 25 minutes to one hour depending upon the size of the beets or till they feel tender enough with the fork test. Drain the beets now and put them in ice-cold water immediately. Once they cool down completely, peel and slice them followed by putting them in the freezer stored in the plastic bags.
Roast and freeze- Preheat your oven at 400 degrees F and arrange your beets in a baking pan. Fill some water and then roast the beets whole for around 45 minutes with the pa sealed. Then store them in the fridge just like the process above.

These methods give results in terms of the beets remaining fresh for up to a year. You can take out the desired portion of beets for use and keep back the rest.

Storing the beets in a root cellar

If you have wanted to know how to store fresh beets, then the Root cellar method is a perfect way out. Prepare your root cellar with any container that has a lid and maintain 95% humidity and temperature between 32-40 degrees F in the cellar. You can make a layer of peat moss, sawdust, or sand to store the beets under and ensure that this layer remains damp for better storage till about three months.

Canning the beets

This is the method to choose if you want your beets to stay usable for years to come. Here is how to go about it:

You need to boil the beets, give them an ice bath, boil them again, and then peel them. Remove their stems and roots too along with dicing them if you want.
Take big jars and put the beets in them with some salt.
Fill the entire jar with boiling water.
Make sure to leave about an inches’ space in the jar.
Seal them with the lids properly and then cook them in the canner. Watch the video.
Once ready, store them in a dry and cool place.

Note: With every method, it is important to keep checking the beet bags once in a while to see if any of the beets have rotten and remove them immediately to protect the whole batch from getting damaged.

Don’t leave the beet greens

The greens of the beets shouldn’t be left out as they can make up for an awesome and healthy side dish. You need to only pick the young and healthy-looking leaves and then follow these tips to store them:

Wash the leaves properly.
Arrange them in separate bunches and then blanch each set for around 2 minutes.
Stop the cooking by giving them an ice bath and then let them dry.
Store them in a zip lock bag in flat layers and then freeze them.

Take out the required amount for use and keep the bag back in the fridge.

Conclusion

To have your favorite home-grown beets in the plates year long, you must learn how to store beets and know several methods for the same to choose the right one that works for you. All the methods we gave above promise the best results and you just have to be mindful to follow all the steps carefully.

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