How Long To Boil Beetroot (And Why)?

Exact Answer: Up to 45 minutes

Boiling the beetroot would take around 30 to 45 minutes. Boiling a beetroot is quite less time taking than roasting the beetroot. Roasting beetroot would take around 60 minutes. To save time, people can cook a lot of beetroot in one batch.

You can easily store fridge beetroot for around 5 days in a sealed container. The size of beetroots matters a lot for predicting the time of boiling. The beetroot can be sliced before boiling to make the process easier. Boiling a whole beetroot would be quite more time taking.

How Long To Boil Beetroot?

The procedure for boiling beetroot depends on how someone does it. The person has to follow many steps for boiling the beetroot and this would take more time. The beetroot needs to be cut into half or quarter for a short boiling process. The skin of the beetroot is quite hard and is not easy to be peeled.

Therefore, it’s always good to peel the skin after the beetroot is boiled. The person can add some lime or vinegar to avoid the beets from spreading their color. Everyone should wash and scrub the beetroot with vegetable cleaners as these are grown underground.

The people choosing small or medium-sized beetroot for the steaming or boiling process will have to boil it for 30 to 45 minutes. Those who want to boil large beetroots should continue the boiling process for 45 to 60 minutes. Raw beets are more nutritious as compared to boiled beets. The raw beets would have more minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins.

The reason to boil beets is to make them soft and hold their flavor. Boiling and steaming are good methods to not let the vegetables lose their flavors and nutrient value. People that don’t like chewable vegetables can boil their beets in just 45 minutes. The utensil someone would use for the boiling process can make some difference.

For example, if someone uses a cooker to boil beets, then the time would be less as compared to a saucepan. Make sure to add the required amount of water to the beet and don’t add excess water.

Why To Boil Beetroot For This Long?

Beetroot is a hard vegetable that needs to be softened. There are some steps of the whole boiling procedure that should be followed correctly. These are:
Step 1- Choose the correct utensil, such as a large pot. Put some water and a pinch of salt in the pot. Start washing the beets and cut the greens of the beet. Leave some part of the stem. This would help in locking some amount of red juice as there will be little leakage during the boiling process.

Step 2- The next step is to cut the beets into pieces or boil them as a whole. Wait for 30 to 45 minutes. Then you will see the beets getting tender and use a knife to check the beets. If the knife goes inside the beets without any difficulty, then it is boiled properly. Don’t over-boil the beets as they would start losing their properties.

Step 3- After the beets are completely boiled, put them in cold water for some time. Then peel off or remove the outer skin of the beets after they are back to normal temperature. Don’t put the beets in water for a long time. The boiling process would be quite messy as the tenderisation of hard vegetables take a lot of effort and time.

Conclusion

The boiling process of beets would be easy if you go for large utensils and small or medium-sized beets. Boiling large beets would not be a huge task but would require more time. Make sure to cut the beets correctly in uniform sizes to reduce the boiling time. Boiled beets are not as nutritious as raw beets but would be convenient to include in dishes.

You can make a lot of food items using beets and these would add a huge amount of nutrients to the body.

References

1. https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/PHYTO.2003.93.6.720
2. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=HuBeOsH_RS0C&oi=fnd&pg=PA279&dq=beets&ots=97nODcxigq&sig=6LYamOzBCrkixzgQcO-4KI8SRhg