Beets -- why do mine take forever to cook?

[Anonymous]

Interesting, thanks for all the input into the wonderful world of beets!

[Anonymous]

I wrap them in foil and roast at 350 for about an hour. Then when they are cool enough to touch I run them under cold water and use my fingers to kind of rub at the skin, and it comes RIGHT off. It really does. I'm a real person who cooks real beets I swear

I do this as well. Excellent beets. Easy easy.

For extra joy, I chill them after roasting and serve them up with blue cheese.

[Anonymous]

I've had the same experience with whole beets and I think they taste better oven roasted instead of steaming. As a previous poster suggested cut them into quarters or smaller, toss in a bit of olive oil and roast on a baking sheet. When I tried this they were done in about 45 mins.

[Anonymous]

I wrap them in foil and roast for about an hour, but they aren't tennis ball size. For that size, it would definitely take longer. The skin does come off pretty easily though. I think it wouldn't come off as easily if I simply tented with tinfoil, rather than wrapping.

[Anonymous]

I never eat a beet near tennis ball size! Totally gross tasting. Not tender AT ALL, that is why it is taking forever…that is one old bitter beet you are trying to cook up.

The smaller the better, but of course really small ones can take forever to prepare. I like mine no lager than a plumb and never steam, only roast. Different flavor from roasting.

[Anonymous]

I put mine in a crockpot. Doesn’t create mess or heat. Throw them, turn it to 6 hours on high and done. No water

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wrap them in foil and roast at 350 for about an hour. Then when they are cool enough to touch I run them under cold water and use my fingers to kind of rub at the skin, and it comes RIGHT off. It really does. I'm a real person who cooks real beets I swear

This is what I do. Works every time.

[Anonymous]

Omg how do you eat a food that tastes like dirt??

[Anonymous]

I've been cooking boiled and roasted beets for 40 years. Mostly, they cook up in a normal amount of time and depending on the elevation, the time could differ a little.. On the rare occasion when they never soften even after hours of cooking, I assume that they are old beets, out of season and probably have been in cold storage for several months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wrap them in foil and roast at 350 for about an hour. Then when they are cool enough to touch I run them under cold water and use my fingers to kind of rub at the skin, and it comes RIGHT off. It really does. I'm a real person who cooks real beets I swear

Same. I’ve never had them cook for over an hour. Maybe I use 400? I can’t remember. But usually I’m not that patient and I peel them raw, chop them and roast them that way. Way less time.

[Anonymous]

It's steam. You need to wrap, not just tent the beets to get the skin to come off easily. If the skin gets too dry, it seems to stick and get difficult to remove. The steam will help the beets cook faster, also. Large beets usually take ~1-1.5 hours for me in a 400 oven, wrapped in foil.

[Anonymous]

We wrap beets entirely in tinfoil and roast at 425 for 1-1.5h. Yes, they take a while. Yes, the skin peels off easily when you cook enough. It’s a great way to unlock the sugar in them to get a good tasting beet. Loooooove the golden ones.

[Anonymous]

Steam in a steamer. Skins slide right off, tender in the middle, done in 30 minutes.