I’ve found through the years that people often have a love or hate reaction to beetroot. I happen to love beets when cooked in a delicious way. I guess that means I love them when prepared well, and dislike them when someone does a poor job.
Beets are a phenomenal storage crop; often lasting longer in our refrigerator than our carrot crops. In fact, I’ve had years where I am harvesting a new crop of beets while I still have some stored away from the previous year. I like to think their incredible level of nutrition is why they store so darn long.
Beets are a power house of nutrition. Loaded with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants they have nearly all of essential nutrients your body needs. The list of benefits is immense:
- Blood Pressure Regulation
- Athletic Performance
- Anti-Inflammatory
- Bone Health
- Liver Detoxification
- Digestive Health
You may not love beetroot, but your body does! I highly recommend finding ways you can enjoy them so you add them to your diet. I love mine roasted with olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and a light sprinkling of balsamic vinegar. SO good. Pair with goat cheese and crusty bread and I’m in absolute heaven!
I also regularly juice them with other fruits and veg when I am on a juice fast. Typically this means I’ve consumed dairy, of which I am allergic to, and I need to flush out my system. Works like a charm! Although, I don’t recommend consuming more than one beet worth of juice per day or it will send you into a not so fun intense detox.
My Favorite Varieties of Beets
Almost all beets are wonderful, but I have found a handful that perform spectacular every single year for me. If you don’t love the flavor of beets then I recommend trying a golden beet to get your feet wet. They have a bit less of that earthy (dirt) flavor so many dislike. So, here they are in no particular order:
- Boro (I say no particular order but this is my all time favorite beet hands down.)
- Subeto
- Detroit Dark Red
- Red Ace
- Touchdown Gold
These varieties always size up well, and are delicious harvested as baby beets or full size storage beets. I purchase the bulk of my beet seed from Territorial Seed, High Mowing Organic Seeds, and Johnny Seeds. However, Baker Creek and Seed Savers are fantastic as well.
How-To Store Your Beet Harvest
When harvesting my beets for storage I keep my greens on if they are in good condition. You’ll want to rinse any excess soil off the beetroot and rinse the greens well.
I then cut the greens from the beetroot leaving 1/2 inch of stem. I save all of the greens I cut off to chop and freeze for later use. Beet greens are highly nutritious and I love using them in smoothies, quiche, and soups. The beetroot themselves place in a slider top gallon Ziploc, and place in the refrigerator to store for winter.
A little side note…
If you have noticed a lot of mold in your soil and crops throughout the growing season, you will want to rinse your beet root well before storing them. You do not need to scrub them, but you will want to rinse well, maybe adding just a bit of vinegar to the water.
