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Produce Info, Storage Tips and Recipes

Beets

Beets

The Basics

The beet is a root vegetable, originally from North Africa, that is closely related to swiss chard. The most common variety is a deep reddish-purple color, but beets can also be white, golden, and even rainbow colored. While they are often served cooked (either boiled, roasted, steamed, or microwaved), they are also delicious when grated raw into salads and sandwiches. (Read more on World's Healthiest Foods.)

Preparation

There are various ways to prepare beets. The first step is always to trim off the ends and rinse under cold water.

Raw: Peel the outer skin and grate the beets into salads and slaws.

Roasted: Peel and chop beets for quicker roasting time. Alternately, whole, unpeeled beets can be wrapped in foil and roasted for about an hour. Once cooked, the skin should come off easily by rubbing with a papertowl.

Boiled/steamed: Again, depending on size, beets can either be boiled or steamed whole or in chunks, peeled or unpeeled. 

Storage Tips

To store beets, place them in a plastic bag, and keep them refrigerated. Beet greens are edible. If the beets arrived with the greens still attached, cut the leaves from the root, and store them separately. The greens will keep for a few days in a plastic bag put in the crisper section of the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Beets are a good source of vitamin C, fiber, and potassium and an excellent source of manganese and folate. They are also one of the few sources of betalains, which are phytochemicals with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. (Read more about beets and betalains on World's Healthiest Foods and see more nutrition facts at Self.com.)

Recipes

Baby Greens with Roasted Beets and Potatoes
Beet and Quinoa Tabouli
Beet Tartare
Chocolate Beet Cake
Edamame, Sugar Snap Peas, Beans and Beet Salad
Oven Roasted Golden Beets
Oven-Roasted Potatoes & Beets with Garlic-Lemon-Thyme Dressing
Pickled Beets
Quinoa Salad with Beets, Daikon Radish and Feta
Roasted Beets 'n' Sweets
Roasted Beets with Cumin and Mint
Rustic Vegetable-Beet Soup
Sprout Sandwich!
Sweet Potato and Beet Chips with Garlic Rosemary Salt
Winter Fruit and Vegetable Salad