# What do beets taste like?



## uniqueenigma

I've been debating trying to add beets into my diet (cooking them fresh, not using the canned variety).  What do they taste like?  I heard from my boyfriend, they taste sweet.  Are they earthy in taste?  By this I mean, do they taste like dirt.  I've had the canned baby corn, and I hate it because it tastes like dirt to me.


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## texasgirl

Hmm, that is hard to answer. I love beets. DH HATES them. lol
They are sweet. I don't know that they have a dirt taste or not. I think taste is all up to the person. You will jsut have to try them.


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## pacanis

No idea. Never ate a beet in my life, unless it was force fed to me as baby food 
But canned corn tastes earthy?  Definitely a "unique" taste compared to frozen or fresh, but I wouldn't call it earthy.


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## Jeekinz

Umm........earthy fruit punch.

If you cook them, wear latex gloves and dont put them on a wooden cutting board. They stain everything.


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## larry_stewart

Raw , they are very sweet, with a carrot-like consistency.  I guess cooked they have kinda like a cooked carrot-like consistency too.  Personally,  only use them when I make a cold beet soup ( borscht) . Ive heard they are good baked too.  They do stain everything as mentioned above, and if u eat enough of them at once, your pee can actually be pinkish red in color.  Scared the heck out of me the first time, thought I was bleeding internally.


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## Jeekinz

The DW makes a killer layered salad with carrot, potato, beets and scallions, I can eat a ton of it....





larry_stewart said:


> your pee can actually be pinkish red in color. Scared the heck out of me the first time, thought I was bleeding internally.


 
....ditto on that!  Nearly passed out!


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## quicksilver

I love 'em hot or cold. Earthy?
I think they are sweet and sort of not tart, but I can't put my finger on it.
Earthy? Not quite sure what that means. 
I think boiled or baked they are alittle harder in texture that a cooked carrot, but smooth/firm texture.
I add to salad, or just it's own salad of raw onion, salt/pepper, vinegar and oil, or hot - simple, just butter.


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## CharlieD

I use beets in my cooking, I love it in the borscht, I'd eat them raw, I like them in a fish salad I make, but would not touch beet salad my mom makes. It is really hard to say. You have to try it more than one way because they are completely diferent in a diferent dish.


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## Barb L.

Beets just have their own taste, I can eat them in salad but love pickled beets, hubby likes neither - not earthy to me at all !  Gotta just try them both ways.


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## David Cottrell

They taste like ah... um, er ah like a root vegetable on the sweetish side, actually very good in a salad (just use your imagination, actually one of the best salads I ever had was made with beets and other veges by a Ukrainian young lady) and aw shucks, go ahead and buy a small can and try them. If they are on the right track for you try some fresh while they are in season now. I like to bake them - rub off the skin and add in small pieces as the last stage in bosch. You can wrap them in foil to bake. 350 degrees F for half hour or so - until a fork easily penetrates. 

Actually they are good eats - do nicely pickled also.


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## babetoo

i like em cooked but don't make them. to big a mess and the staining is very annoying


babe


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## David Cottrell

CharlieD said:


> I use beets in my cooking, I love it in the borscht, I'd eat them raw, I like them in a fish salad I make, but would not touch beet salad my mom makes. It is really hard to say. You have to try it more than one way because they are completely diferent in a diferent dish.


 
Charlie! I can't imagine not eating your mother's beet salad. Is it weird or something? Fish salad with beets sounds weird but interesting - any hints on what's in it and how you dress it - lemon juice or vinegar and oil?


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## CharlieD

I have posted recipe before. Use equal parts of boiled potato, carots, beets, hard boiled egg, canned green peas, my mom adds fresh onion and pickles. I find those two additions repulsive, though I lovee them otherwise. Dice everything fainly(sp?).
I use red canned salmon, smashed/mashed or in chunks if you prefer. Use about the same amount of fish as you have total of vegies. Use round serving plate. Arange the fish in the middle, add all the veggies in a little scoops around the fish. Add them in repiting order. Now mix some mayo with lemon juice. I do not have proportions. Just so mayo is kind of runny. Sprincle some salt over the fish. Poor the mayo to cover fish only. Do not put too much, just enough to cover fish with a thin layer (you can always add some more latter). Serve like that. After everybody seehow beautiful the salad is mix everything well, let people take the salad them selves. Yum. No matter how often I serve it it is always a big hit.


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## CharlieD

As far as my mom's beet salad goes, she adds some walnuts, some garlic, I think some mayo, maybe not, can't remember. I hate it. Don't know why.


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## jpmcgrew

The most simple way to find out if you like beets is to buy a can of sliced beets not the pickled kind chill the can in the fridge and then put them on a salad. I love beets especially on salad. Beets are a good tonic for the blood as well. If you like them in a salad go from there with fresh ones. I don't think they taste earthy at all.


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## David Cottrell

Thanks Charlie - got it, looks good. See uniqueenigma, there are lots of ways to like beets.


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## Andy M.

uniqueenigma said:


> I've been debating trying to add beets into my diet (cooking them fresh, not using the canned variety). What do they taste like? I heard from my boyfriend, they taste sweet. Are they earthy in taste? By this I mean, do they taste like dirt. I've had the canned baby corn, and I hate it because it tastes like dirt to me.


 

Beets are *evil* and _*taste awful*_ and you should never eat them.

They're sweet.


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## quicksilver

Gee, Andy, tell me how you *REALLY* feel.​


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## VeraBlue

Think deep dark sugar.  
Beets pair wonderfully with:  orange zest, caramelized shallots, candied walnuts, balsamic reduction, goat cheese.

Enjoy!


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## JillyBean

uniqueenigma said:


> I've been debating trying to add beets into my diet (cooking them fresh, not using the canned variety). What do they taste like? I heard from my boyfriend, they taste sweet. Are they earthy in taste? By this I mean, do they taste like dirt. I've had the canned baby corn, and I hate it because it tastes like dirt to me.


 
DH says yes, they taste like dirt.  I love them, they taste like beets to me <shrug>.


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## Mama

Jeekinz said:


> The DW makes a killer layered salad with carrot, potato, beets and scallions, I can eat a ton of it...


 
I love beets, wanna share the recipe?


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## Jeekinz

Mama said:


> I love beets, wanna share the recipe?


 
I don't know it _exactly, _but I can give you some of the info.

She grates boiled carrot, potato and beets on a pie plate and adds a mixture of mayo and sour cream sort of like a binder. 

You start with a layer of coarsly grated potato, sprinkle s & p then a very thin coat of the mayo mixture. Next add the grated carrot with the same toppings, then the beets being careful not to turn everything purple. She wears latex gloves while doing the beets. Then the potato again and the carrot again. Add a top layer of sliced hard boiled egg, a little more carrot and chopped scallions.

I can live off of this stuff. Between this salad and my cold pasta salad I barely eat meat anymore. 

The beet salad is simillar to one they make in Russia or Georgia. There's only a little left from the last batch, so I'll get some pics and more info next week when we.....get that? "WE" make a new one.


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## kitchenelf

I like to cube the beets and roast them...using gloves, of course!  Drizzle a bit of olive oil, sprinkling of kosher salt, and that's about it.


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## Jeekinz

I never had roasted beets. Sounds interesting. Do they get a crust like potatoes do?


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## sattie

Beets me!!!!  I don't think I have ever tried a beet.  By the way it is being described, it does not sound like something I would like, but I will try anything at least once!

Mom use to make pickled beets with hard boild eggs... she loved the stuff... I could not stand it!  I think I ate a few of the eggs, but the red color just gets to me after a bit.


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## sattie

I agree Jeeks, roasted beets does sound interesting.


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## VeraBlue

If you leave them uncovered when you roast them, yes, they get a type of skin on them.  If you cover them, they steam and roast at the same time, leaving the entire product softer.


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## kitchenelf

Yep, they get "crusty" just like roasting potatoes or broccoli, or just about anything else, and that's the part I like 

I will roast a bunch of different veggies, grouped together because they can roast at different times (shallots, tomatoes, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms) then toss with some pasta, add more kosher or gray salt, a drizzle more of olive oil.  Makes a great meal!


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## LadyCook61

beets....    Need I say more ??


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## bethzaring

to me, beets truely taste like dirt, the tops and the bottoms, and the smell, raw or cooking, tends to gag me

I was trained to determine folks food likes and dislikes, and beets was a very common food dislike in the older population


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## Michael in FtW

Beets are sweet and rank up there just above carrots for natural sugar content (6.75% vs 5% for carrots). 

Earthy? I think all root vegetables, and most greens, are a little _earthy_ - but if washed well, before preparing by whatever method you use, they should not taste like dirt. 

I like them roasted or pickled the most. 

This is a recipe I picked up from a little Mom-n-Pop Russian restaurant in Austin, TX back about 1973 - and my kids loved them when they were little: 

1 Can/Jar pickled beets
2-4 Tablespoons butter (sliced thin)
2 big dollops sour cream

Heat the pickled beets in a saucepan until nice and hot ... pour off most of the juice ... add the butter and stir to melt ... add the sour cream and stir well ... remove from the heat. Let sit for about 3-4 minutes to let the sour cream get hot.

Sweet and tangy - doesn't taste like dirt at all!


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## MexicoKaren

I love beets. DH does not share my affection for them, but I am able to slip them past him as part of a salad occasionally. I expecially like them roasted, with other vegetables, with EVOO and herbs.  Jeekinz, your wife's salad sounds very good. I think I'll have to try it!


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## Jeff G.

Beets are yummy.  Raw they are earthy sweet as others have said.  I don't particularly care for raw beets.  I love pickled beets(there are good ones on the market, or make your own).  A real treat is Harvard beets!!!  

I also love a good Borcht (Never had cold Borcht.. I serve warm with sour cream).


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## bethzaring

whereas dirt is not the main flavor component for me, dirt is definitely an underriding flavor in beets for me.  I do not detect an underlying dirt flavor in other root crops like potatoes or parsnips.

People's taste perceptions are different. Some people think green peppers are bitter, I do not.


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## LindaBB

I am English - I love beets boiled and served in vinegar, hate the American way of putting sugar on them, but then I hate most sugar.

I have a sandwich three times a week with cheddar cheese and wholemeal  bread - lovely! Yum


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## Constance

Beets taste and smell like the earth, but not like dirt. It's hard to describe exactly what I mean, but I love them...and can't imagine anyone NOT liking them.


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## David Cottrell

LindaBB said:


> I am English - I love beets boiled and served in vinegar, hate the American way of putting sugar on them, but then I hate most sugar.
> 
> I have a sandwich three times a week with cheddar cheese and wholemeal bread - lovely! Yum


 
Would never have thought of this - must try!


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## Angie

Mom use to put them in Chocolate cake and make Beet-nik-bars!


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## Callisto in NC

My mother scarred me for life and I will never eat another beet again.  She used to serve the canned beets twice a week when I was little.  Just the thought adds to my need that I already had to throw up.  I hate the things.  Raw, pickled, pretending to be something else.  Beets are just nasty in my book.


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## quicksilver

Angie said:


> Mom use to put them in Chocolate cake and make Beet-nik-bars!




Okay. So the next question is:
But what did she put in her brownies. Hee, hee.


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