How to dry beets at home. Ripe beets have a thin tail. Which beets are best to choose for drying?

Rich in vitamins and useful minerals. beets allows you to preserve as much as possible beneficial properties product for the whole year.

Advantages of the procurement method

Since ancient times, people have noticed that if fresh or well dried, it will preserve maximum quantity.

and contain a lot of potassium, which improves work cardiovascular system. In addition, it is a storehouse of organic acids and carbohydrates.

Eating fruits significantly reduces the risk of atherosclerosis, renal failure and many other chronic diseases.
This preparation method allows you to simplify the preparation of dishes and also save time.
Drying vegetables does not require additional ingredients or complex manipulations.

Did you know? In dried products the concentration useful substances twice as high as in fresh.

The benefits and harms of dried beets

All the benefits of dried beets cannot be described in a few words. Its use helps eliminate toxins, improves mood and increases appetite.

The red color of the root vegetable is due to the flavonoid contained in the substance, which helps relieve spasms from blood vessels, reduce high blood pressure, improve the strength of capillaries, cleanse the blood of carcinogens and radiation.
IN dried fruits contains a unique betanin, the alkaloid compounds of which accelerate the absorption of food and improve the functioning of the liver, increasing the viability of its cells. In addition, they help reduce cholesterol and body fat.

This vegetable cannot cause serious harm to the body, but it still needs to be consumed in reasonable quantities. It has been proven that the substances in the composition impair the absorption of calcium in the body. Eating too frequently can be harmful to people who have bone disease or have suffered bone injuries.

Thus, the benefits of dried beets are obvious, and they can cause harm only in exceptional cases.

Which beets are best to choose for drying?

If you decide to dry a red root vegetable, keep in mind that not every variety will work. Try to choose a rich dark purple color, without rings.

The shape of the fruit should be round, flat-rounded or flat, with sweet flesh and without coarse fibers. Make sure that there is no damage from agricultural machinery; the length of the petiole is no more than two centimeters.

The varieties “Incomparable” and “Bordeaux” are considered the most suitable for drying.

How to prepare a root vegetable

Before drying, vegetables must be prepared.

First of all, wash the vegetables with a soft sponge under the tap and pour cold water for a couple of hours.
After this, drain the liquid and fill it with new one, put it on the fire so that the root vegetable is properly cooked.
After 20 minutes, the vegetable is placed in cold water, such “shock” therapy will allow her to prepare faster.

Important!Check the readiness of the beets with a toothpick. It fits into the finished vegetable very easily.

When the beets have cooled completely, they should be peeled, root and head removed.
Cut the root vegetable into any in a convenient way(slices, straws, cubes no thicker than 0.5 cm), depending on how you plan to use it.
Now the root vegetable needs to be placed on a baking sheet or sieve in one layer and sent to the drying place.

Popular drying methods

Exists three main ways to dry vegetables. Let's figure out which one is the most optimal and how to properly dry beets at home.

Air-solar drying

Our ancestors came up with the idea of drying vegetables and fruits in the sun. This is the oldest and natural way when food is laid out in attics, sheds, and sheds. This type requires a minimal set of equipment, just racks and sieves.
However, one should take into account the cumbersomeness of the preliminary work, for which you will need baskets and sieves for blanching, kettles for boiling vegetables, tubs for water, knives for peeling and cutting, scales, containers, packaging paper, etc.

In order for the food to be better blown by the wind, it is tedious to raise the racks from the ground and tilt the baking sheets to the south. Beets need to be dried in the sun until four days. The readiness of the fetus is indicated by fragility and slight elasticity.

In an electric dryer

Drying beets is considered the most modern and convenient way of preparing dried fruits and vegetables. Electrical appliance will become a lifesaver for those who have their own and a lot of harvest for processing. It will help you save time and effort by obtaining environmentally friendly preparations without preservatives, sulfur dioxide, monosodium glutamate and other harmful chemical additives, as well as incredible amounts of salt, sugar and vinegar.

One of the main advantages of this method compared to sun drying is that you will not be subject to the vagaries of the weather. Usually it is this factor that prevents the fruits from drying in the required time and of good quality.

In the oven

Drying food in the oven is considered the most popular method for people living in apartments. There is no place to dry it in the sun, and there is no point in buying vegetables for a small amount.

Important!Unlike other vegetables, drying beets requires more high temperature and more time.

To prepare the beets, prepare them and place them on a rack. Make sure that the pieces do not lie too close to each other, this will allow warm air to circulate better throughout the oven. The red fruit should be dried at a temperature of 85–90 degrees. Stir several times during the process. Additionally, leave a gap of 2–3 cm in the electric oven, and 20 cm in the gas oven. Leave the vegetable for 6–7 hours until cooked.

Try not to overcook, otherwise the root crop will crack.

How to determine readiness

Later certain time, depending on the chosen cooking method, the product must be checked for readiness. A sufficiently dried vegetable will be dark burgundy. It will feel fragile to the touch, but at the same time flexible and elastic.

How and where to store dried beets

Dried vegetables should be stored in a cool, dark place. Place the finished product in a glass or tin jar with a tight-fitting lid. The product will also be stored well in plastic bags.

Beets have been consumed by many peoples since ancient times. The ancient Greeks used it not only as food, but also as a medicine, which Paracelsus and Hippocrates wrote about in their treatises. But the Persians considered beets a symbol of discord, so they threw a large root crop into the house of the person they disliked. In Rus', the first mention of this wonderful root crop appeared around the 10th-11th centuries. Wide Application beets received in the 14th century. It was baked, boiled, and served with tea as a dessert. According to legend, the epic Russian heroes were very fond of eating this root vegetable; it was believed that this root vegetable gave them unprecedented strength. And Russian beauties consumed beets not only as food, but also for for cosmetic purposes, rosy cheeks.

The benefits of burgundy root vegetables

Beetroot dishes have long been considered healthy and nutritious. Dried beets are recommended to be consumed to stimulate appetite and improve mood. It helps remove waste and toxins from the body.
The calorie content of dried beets is 254 kcal per 100 grams. product. It is rich in amino acids, carotenoids, iodine, phosphorus, cobalt, magnesium, iron, calcium, and potassium salts. Vitamins PP, C, B2 (riboflavin), B1 (thiamine), A. Beetroot contains citric, lactic, malic organic acids, fiber, nitrogenous substances that normalize digestion.

Flavonoids from beets increase the strength of capillaries, relieve vascular spasms, and reduce blood pressure. Beets contain betanin and betaine. These are compounds that promote the breakdown and absorption of food and improve liver function. Beets reduce blood cholesterol levels and improve fat metabolism. Beetroot is useful for loss of strength, weakness, for the prevention of atherosclerosis and thrombophlebitis, for the treatment of hemorrhoids. The restorative properties of beets have also been known for a long time. During illness, it has an antipyretic and diuretic effect. The cobalt contained in the root vegetable is useful for the synthesis of vitamin B12 in the body. Magnesium is good for the heart muscle. Beets have more pectin than apples and carrots.

How we dried beets in an Isidri electric dryer

1. For drying, we took 5 kg of beets. All root vegetables were thoroughly cleaned. As a result, 4.5 kg of purified product was obtained.
2. The beets were first cut into slices and then passed through a meat grinder, resulting in shavings.
3. The resulting beet “noodles” were distributed onto the trays of an electric dryer. Approximately 350 grams for each. A total of 13 trays were filled.
4. Turned on the dryer and set the temperature to +55 degrees. The temperature in the room where the Ezidri vegetable dryer was working was +12 degrees.

5. The beets were dried on 13 trays and nets for 9 hours.
6. As a result, from 5 kg of fresh beets, 620 grams of dried beets were obtained.
7. The resulting product was placed in a glass jar. Closed with a vacuum lid.
8. As you can see from the video, if you pour boiling water over dried beets, the water instantly acquires a rich burgundy color. That is, it turned out to be high-quality beets instant cooking.

Which beets to choose for drying?

Table beet varieties are considered the best varieties for drying. It should be a rich dark red color with a purple tint, without light rings on the cut, without white veins. Such varieties are, for example, Bordeaux, Incomparable, Canning, Egyptian. It is better not to take sugar and fodder beets, as well as varieties that are close to them in the properties and structure of root crops, for drying. They can be dried, but the final product will be of poor quality. The beets are boiled a little before drying, but you don’t have to do this. If blanching is carried out, then it is worth knowing that an overcooked root vegetable produces a lot of waste during cleaning, and undercooked beets after drying do not swell well and take a long time to boil. This rule works if drying is done in slices.

If dried in strips, then the beets do not need to be cooked. A well-dried root vegetable should have a beautiful burgundy color with a purple or pinkish tint. After drying, beets do not lose their nutritional qualities; all useful substances are retained.

For home drying of beets, they use ovens, ovens, and some people dry vegetables in microwaves. However the best option will be, which is specially designed for high-quality drying of products.

It is worth knowing that it is not recommended to dry vegetables outdoors. In addition to the fact that the process will take several days, the quality of the products will also deteriorate significantly. With the Isidri electric dryer, such problems will not arise. Drying will take several hours, but the result will be high-quality and delicious product. Dried beets must be stored either in paper bags or cloth bags, in glass jars. We recommend sealing jars with vacuum seals. This way, dried beets will not become moldy and will fully retain all their beneficial properties.

Use of dried beets Dried beets retain their properties for the winter taste qualities, therefore it is used in the same dishes as fresh. Of course, it is indispensable for borscht, beetroot soup, vinaigrettes, and salads. It is brewed as tea or made into kvass.
You can try making others original dishes, delicious recipes from beets are presented below. And this is only a small part of them.

. Candied beetroot.

Heat the jam syrup. Pour hot syrup over the dried beetroot, boil a little and leave to soak. When the syrup has cooled, you can try the “yummy”. Or you can take out the beets, let the syrup drain and place them in the dryer on marshmallow sheets. Dry on medium temperature conditions. This dessert can surprise children and adults, and no one will guess what it is made from. It is better to use syrup from cherry, strawberry, raspberry jam. In addition to dried beets, dried carrots are also used for candied fruits.

. Spicy beets.

Beetroot chips are soaked in salted water. While it is soaking, finely grate the garlic. Mix beets, garlic, any greens, season with mayonnaise or vegetable oil. The salad is ready.

. Beetroot caviar.

This is an excellent homemade snack. Dried beets need to be steamed for a few minutes, add finely grated horseradish to your taste, add salt and a little vinegar. Mix everything thoroughly and can be served. The amount of salt, horseradish, vinegar must be selected independently, gradually adding ingredients. It all depends on personal taste and the sweetness of the beets. This spicy caviar will serve as an excellent side dish for potatoes, meat, even pasta instead of ketchup.

. Hearty salad

The dried beets are steamed for a few minutes. Hard boil 2 eggs. You will also need any boiled meat (boiled meat is best chicken breast, lean pork or beef). The meat is cut into cubes or separated into fibers. Eggs are cut into strips. Chop a few cloves of garlic. Place beets, meat, eggs, garlic in a salad bowl, add sour cream, salt, black and red ground pepper. Mix everything thoroughly and put it in the refrigerator to infuse for 10 minutes. After this, decorate with strips of eggs, parsley or dill.

Dried beets - a practical product for tourists

For hikers, beets are a must, as people experience constant heavy physical activity and need complete varied diet, food on a hike should be varied. Of course, admiring the sunset, beautiful nature, a starry night, singing with a guitar is the romance of hiking, for which people are ready to get up with the first rays of the sun and walk thousands of kilometers. But in order to enjoy all the beautiful scenery, tourists need to eat healthy, high-quality and satisfying food.

Wonderfully delicious in nature with the aroma of a campfire to quickly saturate the body. Dried beets are very convenient to take with you on a hike, like other dried vegetables. It takes up little space and weighs little, but your diet on a hike will be as varied as possible. You can't imagine borscht without beets. And on a trip to fresh air aromatic borscht will not only satiate and warm you, but will also lift your spirits. You can also add beets to various porridges and vegetable side dishes, it will make them more beautiful and healthier. It goes well with dried tomatoes, garlic and herbs.

Thus, this root vegetable is simply necessary to always have on hand. A bag of dried beets will come in handy when you need to pack food for a hike, or will help out if you have unexpected guests. After all, a huge number of dishes can be prepared from it.

Calories, kcal:

Proteins, g:

Carbohydrates, g:

Beetroot is widely used by humans not only for culinary purposes, but also in the treatment of a number of diseases. However, the main area of application of the fruits of various plants is gastronomy.

Beet roots can be eaten not only fresh, but also stored for future use using different ways canning: freezing, salting, pickling, pickling, and drying. The latest canning option is suitable for almost everyone plant products, therefore it is widely used not only at home, but also in industrial production.

Vegetable crops most often prepared in this way are potatoes, onions and green onions, carrots, garlic, horseradish and celery root, as well as beets (calorifier). IN industrial conditions Dried beets are produced by subjecting the root crops to preliminary preparation and heat treatment, resulting in the finished product required level humidity, which contributes to the long preservation of dried beets.

Calorie content of dried beets

The calorie content of dried beets is 254 kcal per 100 grams of product.

Composition of dried beets

In addition, the composition of dried beets includes (per 100 g):

: 0.04 mg;
: 0.04 mg;
: 0.2 mg;
: 10.0 mg;
: 1.2 mg;
: 8.0 mg;
: 1728.0 mg;
: 222.0 mg;
: 132.0 mg;
: 516.0 mg;
: 258.0 mg.

Beneficial properties of dried beets

Dried beets are eaten to remove waste and toxins from the body, and also as a means of stimulating appetite and elevating mood.

Dyes and flavonoids contained in them have the ability to relieve vascular spasms, increase the strength of capillaries, lower blood pressure, and have a positive effect on the blood; they have anti-carcinogenic and anti-radiation effects. Contained in betaine and - unique alkaloid-like compounds not yet discovered in other substances contribute to the breakdown and absorption of food and are involved in the formation of liver, which improves the functioning of the liver and increases the vital activity of its cells. Thanks to them, it strengthens capillaries, reduces cholesterol in the blood, improves fat metabolism, and prevents fatty degeneration of the liver.

Dried beets are indicated for people suffering from cardiovascular disorders.

How to cook dried beets

Dried beets can be used in food factories for the mass production of instant products, tomato sauce and ketchups, kvass, as well as meat pates and a number of biologically active additives. In addition, in the food industry, dried beets in powder form are often used as a natural coloring. The best varieties of beets for drying are Bordeaux and Egyptian flat, that is, those that are common among amateur vegetable growers. To prepare dried beets, first cut off the lower, thin tails of the root vegetable. Then wash well and soak the root vegetables in water for 2 hours. Then the beets need to be boiled for about half an hour (but maybe more, depending on the size). The readiness of the beets is determined by sticking a thin wooden stick into the root crop; if it passes freely through the pulp, then the cooking process can be stopped (calorizator). In addition to the usual preparation for drying, this process is also necessary to preserve the natural color of the root vegetables. After scalding, the beets must be cooled in cold water, changing it several times, or use running water for this purpose. The beet skin is peeled only after the cooling process is completed. Then the beet roots are cut into columns, the thickness of which is 6-7 millimeters, and laid out on trays. The time spent on drying is approximately 5-6 hours. Drying is carried out at a temperature of approximately 75-80°C, and towards the end it should be reduced to 65°C. The dried products are cooled and placed in dishes according to the same principle as dried potatoes.

It seems hard to believe now, but, quite recently, it was impossible to buy cola, Big Mac, or chewing gum in Russia. All these were the values of developed capitalism, alien to our then society, which seemed (together with many other capitalist values) distant, fair and romantic.
True, instead of cola for the “dispossessed” to the Soviet man Everywhere they offered excellent kvass, real juice or soda, and instead of Big Macs they offered cheap but wonderful and tasty pies with a variety of fillings.
And the only problem was with chewing gum. Instead, as boys, we often used hot black resin - tar, which stood on city streets in huge tubs heated with coal or even logs where we repaired or re-laid asphalt. This resin was chewable quite well and could serve as a “gum” for an indefinite period of time. But its oily taste, perhaps, could not be called particularly pleasant. However, an alternative to tar opened up on every trip to the village - to stay with my grandmother. From somewhere on the stove, the grandmother always took out a white canvas bag, in which lay nondescript, dull, almost black, dense, elastic pieces, similar in color to the same resin. In the mouth, such “tar” was chewed very reluctantly at first, but gradually weakened, melted and gave off, gave off, gave off powerful accumulated aromas, sweet, deep, warm. Where are these aromas compared to modern gum “with the taste” of banana or watermelon? Grandma’s “gum” didn’t even have to be spit out; in the end, it was simply eaten. Oh, we loved these “rubber bands”!
Meanwhile, of course, in my grandmother’s house there was no question of any tar: the bags contained dried beets, an old (as far as I understand) delicacy, simple and tasty.
We only need beets and nothing else.

In principle, you can take any variety, but it is clear that the tastier and sweeter the raw materials are, the richer they will come out of it.” chewing gum" The amount of beets can also, of course, be anything. However, it would not hurt to know that from a kilogram of fresh beets, after all the manipulations, about a hundred grams of dried goodness will come out. And one hundred grams is just two handfuls.
First, the beets must be brought to readiness. To do this, you can boil it or bake it. In any case, peel the beets prematurely to preserve their juice. Therefore, after washing the beets, I wrap them in foil and put them in the oven, preheated to 180 degrees. The time it takes for the beets to bake depends on their size and lies within an approximate interval of 40 minutes. – 1.5 hours.

Of course, our grandmothers, who lived in Russian villages, used a Russian oven at all stages of preparing vegetable sweets, which was ideal for baking food and, even more so, for drying or simmering. But we, city dwellers, do not have this opportunity, but we have access to ovens with well-regulated heating.
We take out the finished beets, cool them (to speed up the process, you can place them in cold water)

and then we clean it and cut it into thick pieces. It must be borne in mind that during the drying process, the beets will “lose weight” very actively, so you need to cut them, approximately as a starving person would cut sausage, into pieces two centimeters thick. You can do it in slices, or you can use beautiful cubes, a knife, or using special gadgets.

Place the chopped beets on a baking sheet and put them back in the oven to dry.

Now, if you want, you can decide on additional flavoring of the product. Sometimes the beets are sprinkled with extra sugar, sometimes with pepper and salt. It is not forbidden to use other favorite spices here. True, to me personally all these actions seem unnecessary and on my baking sheet there are just beets.

We reduce the heating of the oven to 100 degrees, and when closing it, be sure to leave a gap for steam to escape. The goal of this step is to remove most of the liquid from the beets. The weight of the dried beets should decrease approximately five to six times relative to the weight of the beets placed on the baking sheet. It took me three hours.
Now take out the beets again and dry them at room temperature. How to determine final readiness? Very simple. The beets that came out of the oven had lost their liquid and shrunk in size, but they were not yet dry and remained soft when removed. During the drying process, the liquid will still be lost and the beets will harden. But in no case should it reach a state of brittleness - this would mean that the product is overdried. Elasticity - that's it perfect condition, which is achieved by applying drying. Elasticity reminiscent, for example, of the elasticity of vanilla, the commercial stick of which perfectly holds its original shape, but at the same time bends flawlessly if force is applied to it.

When such elasticity is achieved, everything is ready, the beets can be stored in a sealed jar, you can eat, chew them or suck them like candy. And a spoonful of good balsamic will generally turn a simple but dear chosen one into a sophisticated, exciting princess.
Try it!

Ingredients:

Beet

Is it possible to dry beets?

How to dry beets in the oven, step-by-step instructions with photos:

Step 2

Wash the beets and partially boil them. Cook small beets for 10 minutes, large ones for 15 minutes. Cool the beets in ice water.

Step 3

Peel the beets and cut into thin slices. Arrange the mugs in a single layer on a baking sheet. Dry for 5-6 hours in the oven at 80-85°C until ready.

Step 4

Dried beets ready. Store it in a dry, tightly sealed jar in a cool, dark place.

We will need:

Vegetable and fruit dryer
Pot
Grater for Korean carrots

Ingredients:

Beet

Is it possible to dry beets?

Beets are a very popular and very affordable root vegetable. It is often grown on their personal plots in order to provide your family with high-quality vegetables without chemicals.

Sometimes, after harvesting the entire beet harvest, the housewife discovers a number of fairly small root crops, which it is advisable to immediately put into use, since they quickly lose moisture and presentation. They are used to prepare preparations for the winter: salads, caviar, pickling. It is also beneficial to dry such beets. Dried beets long time retains its taste, rich red color and healing properties. For drying, choose root vegetables with dark burgundy flesh that are sweet and tasty.

Dried beets are very convenient to use on hikes or other field conditions, when the weight of products must be reduced to a minimum. At home, dried beets are soaked and then added to borscht, salads and vinaigrettes. Such beets make excellent kvass. And children will be able to enjoy sweet and bright beet chips without restrictions instead of candy all winter long.