I love beets! I like them hot, I like them in salad, I like them iced and I love them pickled. These beets are pickled with juice leftover from making Watermelon Rind Pickles.
Beets have wonderful nutritional value. They are low in calories and a great source of nutrients, including fiber, folate and vitamin C. Beets also contain nitrates and pigments that may help lower blood pressure and improve athletic performance.
Children usually like beets because they are fun to eat and a bright color. Our dog, Oscar, loves beets and they are also good for dogs. When I make beets, I have to fight over them with my son and the dog!
Okay, we’re going to get a little personal here. Don’t think that you have to go to the emergency room when you look in the toilet and your stool and/or urine is red. You are not bleeding, it’s the red in the beets that making it that color. It’s perfectly normal. Although I must say, my son freaked out when he took Oscar for a walk and he had bright red poop, “Mom! Mom! Oscar is sick!” and I reassured him this was perfectly all right.
Preparing Beets for Watermelon Pickled Beets
The best way to prepare the beets is to use an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. They steam, cook quickly, and lose very little flavor or nutrients.
You can also roast them in foil and they get a nice roasty kind of flavor. I don’t recommend that in the heat of the summer, but it’s a fine way to warm your kitchen in the winter.
Beets do fine in the microwave oven, too, although they don’t get that nice roast flavor.
Boiling is probably the least favored way to prepare beets because it leeches out flavor and nutrients. However, you can steam them but just remember to top off the water if it gets too low.
Email Me the Recipe
Watermelon Pickled Beets
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Ingredients
- 3 Beets
- ½ cup Watermelon Pickle Juice
Instructions
- Remove the leaves from the beets, but leave the roots and an inch of stem.
For Instant Pot:
- Look at the size of your beets. Use a measuring tape to measure them, or you can eyeball it and do a little math. If they are 5 inches in circumference, cook 15 minutes and add three minutes for each half an inch, so nine inch beets would go for 36 minutes. If you don't have a tape measure, you can get the circumference by multiplying the width by π. Let the beets natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release,
To Boil:
- Put the beets in water to cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 25 minute or until the beets are tender.
To Roast:
- Put the beets in foil and roast them at 350 for about an hour or until they yield to the touch.
To Prepare:
- Let the beets cool until cool enough to handle. Use your hands to slip off the peel, and cut of the stem and roots. Slice the beets, then put them in a non-reactive bowl, and cover them with the left over watermelon pickle juice. Refrigerate until nicely chilled.
- If you want, you can put them in canning jars and use the hot water method to can them,
