Beetroot in the Thermomix®

When are beetroot in season?

Outdoor crop from July to October, with stored European beetroot available into March.

• JanStored
• FebStored
• MarStored
• Apr–
• May–
• Jun–
• JulOutdoor crop
• AugOutdoor crop
• SepOutdoor crop
• OctOutdoor crop
• NovStored
• DecStored

Outdoor crop: fresh European harvest. Protected crop: greenhouse or covered cultivation. Stored: European harvest kept in storage.

Buying and storing beetroot

Classic beetroot has deep violet-red flesh with the typical earthy aroma. If you prefer something milder, look for golden varieties (for example Boldor, sweet and gentle, does not stain) and the striped Chioggia beetroot (marbled red and white, milder, eye-catching). When buying, go for firm, hard roots: soft patches point to storage damage. Smaller roots taste more tender, while very large ones can turn woody. Green leafy tops are a good sign of freshness.

For beetroot sold with its tops, remove the greenery straight away so the root does not dry out. Kept like this in the vegetable drawer of the fridge, it stays fresh for up to four weeks. For long storage, bury the roots in a bucket of slightly damp sand in a cool cellar, where they keep for several months. Store cooked beetroot in an airtight container in the fridge and use it within three days.

Preparing beetroot in the Thermomix®

For our Beetroot Salad and the Beetroot Soup, we cook the peeled roots in the Varoma at Varoma temperature on speed 1 for about 25 to 35 minutes, depending on size, until a knife slides through easily. Alternatively we cook them in the mixing bowl with a little water at 100 °C on speed 1. For the Beetroot and Lentil Soup we blend everything after cooking on speed 10 for 10 seconds into a velvety cream.

Tip: wear gloves before you peel raw beetroot, because the pigment betanin stains hands, clothing and chopping boards permanently. Alternatively, rub your hands with a thin layer of oil before you start.

The most common mistakes with beetroot

• Peeling beetroot without gloves. The pigment betanin is water soluble but stubborn. Protect your hands with disposable gloves before you start, or rub them with a drop of oil. Dab spills on worktops away at once with cold water, do not rub them in.
• Piercing or peeling the roots before cooking. If you peel or pierce the root before boiling, a lot of colour and flavour leaks out into the cooking water through the cuts. Always cook beetroot in its skin and peel it only afterwards.
• Buying an oversized root. Very large roots often have a woody core and taste less sweet and aromatic. Small to medium roots (around 150 to 250 g) are more tender and have better flavour.

Goes well with beetroot

These seasonal ingredients are in season at the same time, ideal for combining:

PeppersTomatoesCarrotsPotatoesCeleriac and CeleryBroccoli

Beetroot in the monthly calendar: