Beet greens

Not a very good picture, picked these today.

And later...... after a big mess for supper.

Never heard of canning the greens, how is it done? We just pickle the beets and can them...

This is a new one to me for I love fresh beets but never thought about eating the greens? How do you cook and season them?

Drew, pull the beets, roots and all, wash throughly. I usually do this when the small beets are marble size and thin my rows this way. Put in boiling water to wilt down, pack tightly in jars, cover with boiling water leaving 1/2 inch headroom, add 1/2 ts. salt, put on lids and pressure cook @ 10 lbs. for 45 minutes for pints.

Tplant, wash throughly as above, cook in boiling water until the small beets are just tender. Be careful not to over-cook. I like to add about a 1/4 lb. chunk of salt pork to mine. Season with butter or vinegar if you prefer, salt and pepper. I like butter with mine. If you like greens and you like beets, you'll love beet greens. They are very mild with that beety taste.

I have eaten them before (regularly) just never canned them.

I luv em!
I used to have to tell my customers to eat the greens...most folks threw them away! (Some folks would buy my beets, rip off the greens and give them back to me!) :>)

From what I remember, the greens actually have more nutrition than the roots do. Doesn't bother me, I eat the whole plant...steamed greens, sauteed greens in olive oil/garlice, boiled beets, pickled beets, baked beets (now THOSE are good!)!

Lookin' good, Big Red! You must have quite a good sized beet patch!

We used to eat the greens with a little butter and lemon juice. Yummy, I believe I like them more than spinach or swiss chard.

Shoe, got a row 65' long, we love beets too! I've never tried them baked though, anything special I should know?

Drew, Yup, me too! They're my favorite greens.

Nuthin' special to baking them.

Wash them (as usual), put the beets (roots, not greens) in a baking pan. (I sometimes add a pinch of water so they don't stick but not much.)

Cover with foil and bake a good hour, around 350.

They come out really nice and, unlike boiled/steamed beets, they retain their color and extra flavor. You can do bunches of them like this at a time. Once they're cooked, let em cool then slip the skins off. At this point you can served them as is, with butter/salt/pepper, or use them for pickling.

Thanks Shoe! I've gonna give them a try this way.

The bigger they are the more time to cook...you'll just have to wing it. (Stick a toothpick or fork in them to test, which I'm sure you already know.)

I love beet greens

I love beet greens

I love beet greens

.....with the baby beets attached

I don't can or process foods anymore, so pretty please give me my fresh beet greens with baby beets still on and I'll relish them, even with the sand/dirt that I couldn't wash out first. LOL

Carolyn, who has a similar passion for kohlrabi, the forgotten by most veggie. Sigh.

heheheh...Big Red, I think Carolyn needs a box of beets sent to her!

I haven't grown kohlrabi for quite a few years...maybe I should do some for this Fall. (Then I can post pics and tease Carolyn!) :>)

Carolyn...what's the best way to fix kohlrabi..had access to alot of it, but didn't know what to do with it..lol.

Well, tonight I had my first beet greens, ever... and they were DELICIOUS! Just sauteed in olive oil and garlic... Yum!

My favorite way to cook beets (although I haven't tried the delicious sounding roasted beets!) is to shred and cook them in a little olive oil and butter with chopped onions and the juice (and zest) of a couple of oranges. Sorta steamed and sotra sauteed.

I love beet greens also and everyday I am telling someone new to eat the tops. They are amazed that they are edible. I am surprised they didn't know. My grandmother used to cook a whole pot of them and we'd sit and eat them with butter, salt, and pepper...YUM.

Of course, I make a lot of pickled beets, but had never known to can them. I don't pressure can, so why I didn't think of it.

Shoe, just recently someone told me they roasted theirs with olive oil and they came out so sweet. I had never heard of that. Learn something new every day.

As James Taylor says....Beet Greens and Blues are the colors I choose!!!

This message was edited Jun 16, 2004 10:26 PM

As James Taylor says....Beet Greens and Blues are the colors I choose!!!

Hah!... luv it! (James is a Carolina boy, ya know!) ♫♫

I'm trying so hard not to pick more beets...I want them to get really big this year so I have more to eat!

Kathy, my neighbor here in Bethelridge, who is 72, raises mustard greens, likes turnip greens, but never heard of eating beet greens either! He said he was going to give them a try, if he does he'll be hooked!

Shoe, I'm trying hard not to pull more beets for greens also, going to let them get bigger and better! Got to get some canned for some red flannel hash this winter!

" red flannel hash"....

You better elaborate on that one! Whatever it is I bet it's delish!

Yes, James is a Carolina boy, but also a Massachusetts boy and as refered to in the same song.......covered in snow, and so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston...The Berkshires were dreamlike on account of that frostin'...Yep, that's my stomping ground.....The Berkshires, born and raised. To the best of my knowledge, he still lives in that part of the world...as does our friend, Arlo Guthrie...

Ahhh, good ole' Massachusetts :) Yes, sometimes I get homesick.

We have lots and lots of beets this year and they are getting real big. It is a good beet year. Shoe, if you lived closer I'd say eat those beets and greens, I've got enough to fill your void!!!

Shoe, after a corned beef and cabbage boiled dinner, take the leftover corned beef, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and 2 or 3 boiled onions, and grind them all in a meat grinder, grind in a couple of cans of beets. I use about equal proportions of each (except onions). Mix all these together and fry in butter in a large skillet, you can fry it all together or use smaller amounts so that you can brown the hash better. Salt, pepper to taste.

The different colors, red of the beets, white of the taters/cabbage, orange of the carrots, mixed together look like flannel, thus red flannel hash.

Traditionally this dish is done with corned beef but I like mine with boiled ham better. I like it served with fried eggs (for breakfast, lunch or supper).

And yes, it's absolutely delish!

Yum, yum, yum.........now you are talking New England dinners....:)

Carolyn...what's the best way to fix kohlrabi..had access to alot of it, but didn't know what to do with it..lol.

I love it just raw. It has the same texture as does jicama or water chesnuts.

But I also love it just lightly steamed with butter, salt and pepper, nothing more.

So many folks cook veggies and the various seasonings they use mask the natural lovely taste of the veggie itself.

Just my opinion.

Carolyn, less than 1/2 mile from the Vermont border so considers herself a New Englander, but was also brought up on New England boiled dinners, grunts, Indian Pudding, etc., and lives near many super Maple Syrup producers but doesn't have to endure the leaf peepers on my back road. (smile)

Thnx Carolyn, one more question, what's the best size for optimum flavor, texture? I've had absolutely no experience w/them, so appreciate your expertise. Sound delicious. Janet ;-)

Hey Janet, I think about the size of a small lemon is the best and I agree with what Carolyn said about masking the taste of the veggies. I just like good ole butter, salt and pepper.

Carolyn, Met a lady at our farmers' market here in Kentucky that was visiting her daughter. Said she just bought a house in Salem, NY and I told her if she was into tomatoes, eventually she would meet the person that knows the most about them that I know of :) I don't think she gave me her name, but she just recently bought the house and her daughter lives in Brandenburg, Kentucky. She bought some goodies from me :)

Kathy .....Happy Day!

Thnks for info, Kathy. . I used to live in Ky in late 60's, early 70's, in Mt. Sterling...beautiful country..I still dream about how green it was back there...and our garden...wow!!..it was terrific. Everything just grew so lushly. . . anyway, that was another time and life...thnx.