What do you use to steam beets?

I was experimenting with steamer setups and different veggies. Beets seem to be one of the slowest to steam until soft, but they taste great steamed. I used frozen sliced beets that I had peeled and cut, and it took more than twice as long as room temp potatoes sliced the same way. I may try freezing potatoes to see how much of a difference it makes, but in the meantime, I was wondering if anyone has steamed beets with great success.

Must confess that I rarely start with raw beetroot, preferring the packed pre-cooked ones from the supermarket. It’s an easy job to warm them through in whichever way suits the dish. Never thought of steaming them though and, on the rare occasion when I use raw ones, then I wrap in tinfoil and roast.

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I steam whole beets in the pressure cooker and peel and cut after.

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The humble crockpot offers yet another method. Leave skins, roots, and a bit of stem on to discourage the beets from bleeding and wash them. Wrap similar-sized beets in foil packets or wrap individually. Line the inside of crockpot in foil in case beets do bleed. Use kitchen tongs to flip packet over to the opposite side about halfway through cooking time.

Check for doneness by poking packet with a skewer or fork. Usually takes me between 4-5 hours on high, though cooking time can vary a lot depending on how large and how fibrous the beets are.

Remove the packet(s) with your tongs and let beets cool down before slipping off the skins. Peeling is messy so I use food-safe gloves.

To me, beets prepared this way are a cross between steamed and roasted. I appreciate that this slow cooker method lets the kitchen stay cool in summer, which is when we get beets in our farm share.

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What’s the difference in taste and texture between steamed and roasted? Never tried steaming, and am curious. Are there certain applications where you have to steam?

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I usually wrap the beets individually in foil and then bake- but they are essentially steaming with their own moisture in that sealed packet, the finished texture is the same. Seems to take about an hour or so. I peel after they’re cooked since it slips off easily.

Steaming beets in a steamer basket would probably take forever!
(Don’t freeze and then steam potatoes, their texture does not survive freezing well especially to eat as is, gets weird and grainy)

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Does everything steam faster in a pressure cooker on a steamer basket?

I haven’t roasted them. I guess that if people cook bread in steamers, it’s pretty similar. I’m steaming them away from an oven, which is more convenient, because I can’t use the kitchen at all hours (or the smell wakes people up, and when they’re up we’re in each other’s way).

Correct - 5-10 mins for smaller beets, 15-20 for large beets. If you’ve sliced them previously, then shorter than for whole beets - check at 5, and bring it back up to pressure if you need to.

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Okay, there’s one here I can try. Its instructions list beetroot as the longest cooking time for any vegetable there (25 min), and potatoes look similar to how long it took me to steam them without pressure (7-10 min). Maybe that’s for whole ones, and I’ve figured out how much of a difference extra space can make in steaming times, since my best results were with the most compact set up. This pressure cooker is the same height as that, so it should do at least as well…

Yeah, it seems to have cooked the potatoes in half the time, so beets would be faster I’m sure. I’ll use that for veggies with longer cooking times, and the other one so I don’t overcook the rest, thanks.