Can You Freeze Beetroot? How To Prepare Beetroot For Freezing?

Is It Possible To Freeze Beetroot?

Have more beetroot than you can now consume? Enjoy earlier in the year and preserve some of your extra food. Here’s how to accomplish it effectively and with the least amount of mess. Can you freeze beets? The answer is yes! You can freeze any type or color of beet.

Now you know that you can freeze beets. But what would you require to freeze the beets? Check out the list below:

Beets
A chopping block
The blade
A huge kettle of ice.

How To Prepare Beet For Freezing?

Pick sensitive, fresh, brilliant red beets that are firm but not soft. Then divide them into two piles according to size: one for little beetroot and another for large. Cooking times vary depending on the size. Save time by selecting beets that are around the same size if you’re buying them rather than raising them yourself. You’ll be able to prepare it at the same time if you do this.
Cut the top leaves of each beet by approximately a half-inch and discard them. Set these leaves aside since they are tasty. Leave a portion of the crown and roots intact for now; doing so will stop the beetroot from bleeding when cooked.
Scrub the beets thoroughly to get rid of any dirt.
Then, put the beets in a saucepan, cover them with water, and bring it to a boil. Beets should be cooked for 20 – 30 minutes for tiny ones and between 45 and 50 minutes for large ones. Your beetroot is done when a spoon can easily pierce one of them.
To halt the cooking, place your cooked beets in an ice-water bath.
Peel your beets after they are cold enough just to manage them. After that, remove any remaining tips and stems.
After being chopped or thinly sliced, the beets should be placed on a cookie sheet and promptly frozen. The beetroot won’t freeze in clusters as a result of this.
Put your beets in freezer bags when they have completely frozen, then put the bags back in the freezer.

Although they may be stored indefinitely, it is better to utilize them within a year. Beets contain a lot of water, so you should think about vacuum sealing them. This will lessen the risk of freezer burns. Simply try to eliminate all of the extra air from your container if you do not have a vacuum sealer.

Advice On How To Prepare And Store Beets

Slice your beets if you aren’t sure how you will utilize them just yet. Slices may always be divided into portions afterward.
When dealing with your beets, think about donning some disposable gloves. The bleach-water method works well on bleach-safe surfaces to erase stains from your cutting board or countertops. Of course, while dealing with beetroot, it’s typically simpler to simply omit using your preferred kitchen tools.
Use the beetroot leaves to prepare a salad or cook them with some garlic and olive oil for some tasty greens. They may be utilized in the same manner as broccoli or Swiss chard. Just be sure to thoroughly wash the leaves so they don’t seem grainy. Simply remove the stems from your meal if crunchiness is an issue.
If you can’t boil and freeze the beets right away, remove the greens and store them separately. If the greens are left intact, the beets will decay faster. Your beetroot should stay in the fridge for at least one week.

Methods To Freeze Roasted Beets Or Blanched Beets

Beets are a simple root vegetable to cultivate and may be prepared and stored for up to 8 months. They have a strong earthy flavor and freezing beets is easy.
Although red beetroot is the most prevalent, you can probably find various colors at most supermarkets and farmer’s markets. You could also come across white beetroot or beetroot with different colors in addition to the golden yellow ones.

Freezing Blanched Beetroots In The Freezer

Trim the beet greens, leaving a stem that is between one and two inches long.
Leave one to two inches after trimming the lengthy root ends.
Beets should be washed whole, then scrubbed with just a vegetable brush.
Put ice and water in a large basin and set them aside.
Boil water in a large pot.
Put all of the beets in the boiling water at once if they are all the same size. If not, space them out according to size. Small beets will cook in approximately 25 minutes, medium beets in about 45 minutes, and large beets in about an hour.
The beets should be drained in a strainer after they are soft, then immediately submerged in cold water to halt any cooking.
Cut the stems and root tips off the beets after they have cooled, then peel them. Apply a little touch while using a vegetable peeler if they are difficult to remove. Wearing gloves during the preparation process may be a good idea because the beet juice should be simple to wipe off.
Beets can be sliced into slices (about 1/4 inches thick), quarters, or cubes. If preferred, leave a few beets intact.
Beets may freeze for up to 8 months by placing them in zip lock bags or low freezer containers and labeling them with their date and name.

How To Freeze Roasted Beets?

Trim the beet greens, leaving a stem that is between one and two inches long.
Leave one to two inches after trimming the lengthy root ends.
Beets should be washed whole, then scrubbed with a vegetable brush.
The oven should be heated to 400°F (200°C/Gas 6).
Place the beets in a big baking or roasting pan with a rim. Add water to a depth of approximately 1/2 inch, or about 1 cup.
Wrap foil firmly around the pan.
Depending on size, roast the beets for 45 to an hour, or until they are soft. Take short ones out when they turn fork-tender if the sizes vary.
Remove the skins and cut the stems and root ends of the beets once they have cooled. Use a vegetable peeler with caution if they don’t come off readily. You should be able to easily wash the beet juice off, but you might wish to use gloves when preparing the dish.
Beets can be chopped into quarters, diced, or sliced with a thickness of around 1/4 inch. You can choose to leave little (1-inch) beets intact.
You can freeze beets for up to eight months if you store them in heavy-duty zip-lock bags or freezer containers labeled with the name and date.

Advice On Choosing And Using Beets

Select young beets that still have their greens intact. Remove the greens, but leave a few inches of the stems on them if you won’t be cooking them right away. For up to a week, keep them loose in the refrigerator.
Keep the greens if they are still fresh! Greens like spinach should be sautéed or steamed together with some vinegar. Or you could grate them and mix them into a salad.
Remove as much air as you can from freezer bags before freezing veggies. Less air implies a lower risk of freezer burn and other losses in the bags.
To remove the bulk of the air from the freezer bag if you do not have a vacuum sealing mechanism, use a straw. You should leave a little hole for a straw when you zip the bag. Using a straw, swiftly shut the bag after sucking out the rest of the air.
Add one or two tablespoons of lime juice or vinegar to the boiling water to maintain the beetroot’s bright red color and reduce “bleeding.”
For quicker beet preparation, use a pressure cooker.

You should chop and slice beets, then spread them out on a baking sheet and quickly freeze them. The beets won’t freeze in clumps as a result of this. Put your beets in freezer bags when they have completely frozen, then put the bags back in the freezer. Although we can store them for a long period, it is better to consume them within a year.

Tips To Freeze Beets

Now that you know how to freeze beets, check out the following tips for more effective results.

It is always advisable to blanch the beets before freezing them. This is because blanching will help the beets retain their texture and flavor, as well as their nutritional value for longer.
Beets contain a very strong color content which can stain other food items in the freezer. Therefore, you should use high-quality freezer bags to freeze the beets.
If you have larger quantities of beets and all of the different sizes, portion them based on similar sizes before freezing.

How To Defrost Frozen Beets?

You can prepare the frozen beets straight from the freezer. You do not need to defrost or thaw them if you intend to use the beets further in recipes. However, you should boil the beets until tender if you’re using them in a salad or cold dish.

Also, if you want to roast the beets, boil them from frozen for about 5-10 minutes, then put them in a roasting pan with some oil, seasoning, and herbs, and roast the beets for 25 to 30 minutes in the oven.

Summing it up, that was all about freezing beets effectively at home. Now you know that you can freeze both raw and cooked beets easily in the freezer. All you have to do is follow adequate freezing guidelines, and your beets will keep in the freezer for up to a year.