Tag: Beet preparation

According to nutrition research, eating raw beets can help retain vitamins and nutrients. This means consuming them fresh maximizes their nutritional potential.

According to the National Institutes of Health, beets are one of the richest dietary sources of nitrates, which convert to nitric oxide in the body to help lower blood pressure and improve athletic performance. This nutrient-dense root vegetable, including its leafy greens, offers a wealth of health benefits, but does the color or cooking method change its nutritional power?

Beet skin, like that of potatoes or carrots, is perfectly edible and contains a wealth of fiber and nutrients. The question of whether to peel beets before eating raw, therefore, is less about safety and more about personal preference concerning texture and flavor.

While the internet has thousands of borscht recipes, a quick look reveals that about half of them instruct you to peel the beets, while the other half don't. This common contradiction leaves many home cooks wondering whether this step is truly necessary for the perfect beet soup.

Raw beets offer a higher concentration of heat-sensitive nutrients like vitamin C and folate, but this doesn't mean cooking is off the table. The decision to cook beets or not depends on factors such as digestive tolerance, flavor preference, and specific nutritional goals. Both raw and cooked beets provide unique benefits and can be safely incorporated into a healthy diet.