Cooking beets often turns into a long process, and the result is still disappointing: the root vegetable is either tough and fibrous, or tasteless and watery. In fact, achieving sweet, dense, and quickly cooked beets is not difficult. All you have to do is remember three simple rules.
Do not overfill beets with too much water.
Many people place root vegetables in a saucepan and pour in so that they float freely. This is a mistake. There should be just enough water so that it just covers the beets or almost reaches the top.
Important: the smaller the volume of water, the weaker the so-called exchange between beets and broth. In a large amount of liquid, the root vegetable loses sugar, potassium, magnesium and other useful substances.
As a result, the beets become less sweet, boiled and loose. With a minimal amount of water, it retains density, rich taste and bright color, reports “In the Garden at Valentine’s” (18+).
Do not salt beets when cooking
Salt is the biggest enemy of beetroot flavor and texture. If you salt the water, a substitution occurs: sodium penetrates into the root vegetable, and calcium and magnesium, on the contrary, go into the decoction. It is these elements that are responsible for maintaining the density of the vegetable.
Because of the salt, the beets soften unevenly, become loose and even coarsely fibrous if they are not cooked enough. In addition, salt water accelerates the loss of sugar content and causes the root vegetable to darken, acquiring an unappetizing brownish tint. Therefore, beets are always cooked without salt, and the finished dish is added with salt.
Cook beets over medium heat
Many people mistakenly believe that the vegetable must be simmered on the lowest heat so that it does not fall apart. In fact, this leads to the opposite effect: the beets cook for too long, lose their shape, taste and nutrients, while the outer layers soften more than the core.
The optimal mode is medium heat, without strong bubbling, but also without sluggish boiling. This approach speeds up cooking and helps maintain a dense consistency, sweetness and uniform structure. The beets manage to cook, but do not turn into a faceless mass.
How not to spoil beets:
- do not fill with large volumes of water;
- never add salt when cooking;
- keep the heat medium, do not simmer on low;
- do not pierce with a knife during cooking;
- Check doneness with a fork only at the very end.
