Can you keep the beet?!
I know you read about beets all the time, and who doesn’t love reading about beets, but the truth is not everyone likes beets. After I had moved away from home and started gardening in another part of the world, I made a home visit and asked my dad if beets would grow well in northern Louisiana. He replied, “Probably, but who would eat them.” Well…
…me, for one, and they grow well around Eureka Springs if you pick out the rocks in the soil first.
Beets are not like zucchini because you know how many beets you will get because you put the seeds in the ground and nurtured the plants. Zucchini plants might keep on giving till your baskets overflow and neighbors run away when they see you coming. Beets should be more predictable. However, you should plan for how many beets your household will eat. Sometimes, in our exuberance, we grow too many, so what to do?
For answers, we turn to these testimonies.
“My name is Harold,” Harold said, “I’m a gardener, and I grew too many beets. Usually, we do things the simple way at our house and just slice and steam a few at a time with supper, but it got to the point we were eating beets seven or eight meals a week just to keep up.
“Maureen, my wife and helpmeet, was chagrined because her teeth were turning purple and so was her effluent. It might have been the wine but it might have been beets because of the increased frequency. Therefore, we pickled a couple dozen jars, and that worked fine to ease the immediate overflow. Maureen encouraged me to mix in more carrots and parsnips next time I plant, and somehow my supply of beet seeds disappeared.”
And then…
“Well, hello there. I’m Katrina. Maybe you’ve eaten some of my biscuits I sell at the market. But today, I’ve got beets on my mind. Harold down the road offered me a box of beets, but he failed to mention it was a refrigerator box, and it was full. I watch cooking shows on the television, so I learned a smart way to prepare beets is to anoint them with oil, wrap them in foil, and roast them for most of an hour. You can even sprinkle black pepper on them. Everybody’s different.
“I also learned on Channel 329 beets are scrumptious in baked goods. I made cupcakes with beets and chocolate – don’t frown! – and everybody at church loved them and wanted my recipe.
“I also made peanut butter cookies and didn’t tell anyone they had cooked beets in them, and they got gobbled right away. Finally, since I make biscuits anyway, and I have a year’s supply of beets, I included them in my recipe, and my husband Cromwell said he loved them, but I’m not convinced because he left the room right away and returned smelling like a donut. I’ll have to try beet donuts next.”
But also…
“Good afternoon, happy people. Of course, you know me as Charley the Wine Snob, and yes I am. I’m here today to talk about beets because my neighbor down the road Harold grew so many beets spy satellites were gathering overhead just in case. He’s probably the one who filled my truck bed with fresh, juicy beets of many colors, and I knew exactly what to do next – make beet wine!
“The plan – gather all your usual wine-making paraphernalia (do you have a carboy?) and ingredients and follow complicated recipes that will take months before you get a nose of fresh beet vino. Or follow a simpler recipe that will have you imbibing – what! is this pinot noir? – in about four weeks or less. Beet wine is a dry wine like Bordeaux, and, thanks to Harold, I’ll be drinking homemade organic beet wine until 2026.”
Easy to grow, versatile… can’t beet ‘em.