after...paring knife, paper towel and pink fingers. LOL

Definitely after. The skins mostly slip right off, I use a knife for the "sticky" parts. Like Terri, I need papers towels and I always have pink fingers.

I love, love, love fresh beets!

Annie

After. They slip right off. I only need to use a knife at the two ends.

Another vote for after. SOOOOO much easier!

Linda

AFTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!Diana55

After cooking. Olive Trees and Honey says to also leave ther root and an inch or so of the stem on for cooking so that the color doesn't bleed away. That seems to work. I like the milder taste of the golden ones.

Ok, I'll give it shot... Usually I peel and slice them first but this time I bought 3 pounds of small beets and the small ones are so hard to peel...

I use them for pickled beets, hubby will eat a whole jar at every meal if I let him... lol

About how long do I have to let them cook so the skin will 'slide' off... I'm afraid I'll end up with a pink kitchen if I cook them all the way through then use the electric slicer ( lol )... Besides I have to let them cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes with the vinegar, sugar and spices... I suppose I could just quarter them but I prefer the slices...

Rita

I oven roast them wrapped in aluminum foil with a little olive oil or butter until they are tender. The skins will slip right off once cooled enough to handle.

I prefer them oven roasted too, but I don't always have time. Pressure cooking gets them done fast!

Rita, I just put a marinated beet recipe on the Sukkot Menu thread. That recipe said 30 to 50 minutes of simmering until the beets are tender. Mine were big beets so I did the longer time. They sliced pretty easily at that point.

Here is a link that might be useful: Balkan marinated beets

Welp, it didn't work for me... The only way I could get the skins to 'slip' off was under running water so I ended up peeling them anyway... I'm not crazy about the appearance either... Instead of redish purple I ended up with pinkish purple beets... I couldn't use the water I cooked them in because that was a brownish purple... And they're over cooked... Well the edges are... Sometimes quicker isn't better.... Oh well, they still taste ok...

Rita

I'm with the other posters, try roasting them sometime. They've got so much more flavour.
Catherine

I roast them too, either in the oven or the webber kettle, wrapped in foil. Wash the raw beets under running water, scrubbing them like you do potatos, wrap loosely in foil and put in the oven on a baking sheet in case of leakage. I very often put the beets right in the fridge still wrapped in the foil and open them as I need them. It may make it easier to peel when they are very cold. I have never timed the baking, I just pull the beets out when whatever else I was baking/roasting is done. I have never had a failure with this method. I do peel under running water too, to keep the red in the sink and off my clothes, but the beets are always dark red. Here's an easy recipe too: sliced or diced cooked beets, balsamic vinegar and caraway seeds adjust amounts according to personal tastes. Thats all it takes and its great tasting!

I have been eating beets all my life. I even grow them in the garden every year and have never heard of baking them. I am definitely going to do that from now on. I was curious about how to do it so looked it up on the web and found these instructions. Does this sound about right? Seems like a very long time to me.

"Take some nice, fresh beets about 2" in diameter, with the green tops still on, and trim off the greens and the pointy root end. Toss them in a foil package and season with ground pepper and a dash of kosher salt, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Throw in a sprig of freah thyme too, if you've got it handy. Seal the package (about five or six beets per), and bake right on the oven rack at 325 for an hour and a half or two. Don't worry about the time too much - they're not going to turn into mush on you. Take them out of the oven, let cool until you can handle them, then peel by rubbing off the skins with paper towel. "

Another said to do it this long at this temperature.
"Trim roots and stems to 1/2", do not cut beets further!
Do not wash beets! If there is dirt that bothers you, wipe it off with a paper towel; moisture will cause the beets to steam and that is not what you want.
Place beets in a casserole, cover with the lid and seal the entire casserole tightly with foil; bake at 400deg. for 60-90 minutes."

Clare

I love roasted beets. I usually use the toaster oven for roasting all veggies unless I'm roasting lots of stuff. Takes less energy, and heats the kitchen less.

I have a pair of rubber gloves that have a 'non-slip' textured pattern on them that I use for peeling beets after they're cooked. I put on the gloves and roll a beet between my palms and then the skin slides right off. It's the same principle as those rubber garlic rollers.

After, using a dish towel.

Simply pick up the beet in the dish towel and rub.

The skins rub right off.

I do the same as ruthanna. Yum.

An hour or so sounds about right. I roast them until they're soft, the big ones can take quite a while.

AM

Here is a link that might be useful: delicious beet puree

It seems to me that roasting the beets is fool proof, since there are so many reportedly successful ways to do it. I wrap each separately, no seasonings or oil, and roast on pretty high heat, usually 400 or higher, depending on what else is going in the oven. I might try not washing them, the skins come off anyway so the dirt can't be much of a problem.