Hate ’em or Love ’em- Beets?
In food conversations, some dishes get normally unanimous approval and applause. Ice cream, cookies, chocolate, pork belly, brisket and rib eye steak normally spike up excitement in food talk. Sweets and quality meats always seem to be at the top of the list. But there are those select ingredients that can quickly divide the room in half and cause a few brows to frown. Beets are a good example.
We’re big fans of growing beets and eating beets from top to bottom. From fresh beet salad greens to roasted beet roots, these colorful tubers keep us busy and satisfied. Unfortunately, there’s another half of the population that can’t bear the taste or texture of beets. “Tastes like dirt!”
A friend of ours stays away from any root that makes him “pee red”. Freaked out the first time he ate beets as an adult. Thought he had internal hemorrhaging. The “unusual” color isn’t an argument we’ll contest with. Although, there are white beets to resolve this issue.
Another friend shrieks from the word “beets” because it brings back horrible memories of her grandmother forcing them to eat beets out of the can.
And then there’s a more daring group of pals that adore beets, in any shape or form. These are the peeps we talk and feed liberally when it comes to beets.
So our population of food friends seems to be pretty much split in half. There are the haters and the lovers and rarely does anyone ever sit on the fence when it comes to beets. You either will eat it, or pass it to Mikey.
What’s your take on beets? Are you a hater or lover?
Beet Lovers,
Diane and Todd
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Love ’em, roasted with honey and orange juice.
What timing. I couldn’t wait for beets to be in season (I’m in NY) so I just made this great beets sandwich with pickled beets, caramelized red onions, apple slices, walnuts, roasted peppers (believe it or not!), and crumbled blue cheese on multi grain bread.
http://www.ecokaren.com/2011/02/beets-caramelized-onion-and-apple-walnut-sandwich/
beets are healthy, still i’m not used to its taste. I like white beets better, though red beets are more healthy to eat!
Didn’t like them as a kid but I love them now! Roasted over salad greens with a goat cheese is a favorite. A lady at our local farmer’s market sells jars of pickled beets each summer & I always buy a few pints.
this is quite a thread…. I like to mash Yukon Golds into a creamy cloud…then cube cooked beets all colors, yellow ,orange red,mahogony and slowly incorporate the cubed beets into the mash…then push a generous slab of butter in the middle and season with freah grated nutmeg, some pepper and salt..MAN you will make this over and over…great all by itself…….
pamela- wow, thank you for this comment and recipe! must try it soon, you convinced us.
total, absolute, complete beet lover – always have been . . . even back in the day when my mother bought beets in a can . . . now we grown them and we love them even more!
I love them root to top. I can’t wait for the ground to thaw so I can start some growing in the garden!
We love beets! All kinds and prepared in all ways! My favorite method of cooking them is roasting since it brings out so much flavor.
LOVE beets! – they’re so delicious when roasted – in australia, everyone eats them on hamburgers – beets have such an affinity with goat cheese (or even labneh) – i love to make a salad with roasted beets, arugula, goat cheese, pomegranate seeds, and walnuts – even my dogs love beets! – i like to roast all kinds of them to get lots of color on the platter
I LOVE beets, and I’ve converted a few people from beet haters to beet lovers too.. including my boyfriend. Now he loves it when I cook them. I think it’s all about them being cooked right.
Grew up hating our home-canned pickled beets, remember how they stained the industrial plastic cafeteria plates our large family used. We canned everything back then, raised our own meat, eggs, dairy, veggies. Then one day I tried Russian beet borscht (sp?) and surprise -loved it. Because I’m an obsessive food gardener I started growing them and fell in love with the beauty of beets- chioggia, cylindra, golden. Discovered the wonder of beet greens! Finally my evolution to “beet lover” was completed with the discovery of oven-roasted beets, simply dressed with balsamic and sprinkled with tangy chevre. Now I grow them every year, and love a fresh grated beet & carrot salad when the leafy greens are played out. Gardening will change your palate.
I’m a lover……………beets served anyway.
LOVER. Wish I could find more varieties – may have to resort to growing my own. Almost love your photos more. Those are outstanding – are those from a previous crop of your own?
I was once a hater. After roasted beets made their way to my plate with some cheese and hazelnuts, I couldn’t stop talking about the virtues of beets. I got strange looks. People asked if I had hit my head. Steadfast I was, and still am, about turning the haters to lovers. If the play of earthy sweet with a salty cheese and a crunchy nut is enough to turn me, there have got to be some potential lovers out there, ready to be revealed. Canned beets just don’t do the vegetable justice.
So, T & D, what lovely recipes do you have to share? I’m interested to see if you have any unusual cocktails up your sleeve….
Beet lover! But only fresh beets, roasted. Grew up thinking they were vile, but then cold beets poured straight from the can will do that.
I’m a big fan! Beet latke are one of my favourite things of all time!