Do Beets Go Bad?

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Well, the answer to this question is ‘YES.’ Beets do go bad. When talking about fresh beets, they can last for up to 3 months if stored properly.

However, if you have kept beets longer than this period, they would lose their moisture, which means they have gone bad and would completely dry. And if beets lose their moisture, they would not be edible.

If you have kept cooked beets in the refrigerator for too long, they could get moldy, so you have to discard them immediately. When you have cooked beets contaminated, you should not keep them longer than a day or two because they would have more probability of going bad.

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How to Store Beets?

The first most step in storing the beets and keeping them in the same form as they were in the first place is you should pick the fresh vegetables. And to determine the freshness of the vegetable, you should pick the ones with the fresh leaves. It is because they are a good indicator in determining the vegetables’ freshness.

Keep them Clean and Dried

After picking the vegetable, the next step is to gently clean the dirt on the beets because they grow under the ground; hence, they are covered in dirt when they are reaped. And the dirt causes them to rot faster. Keep the vegetables raw, dry, and in a cold place to make them last longer.

Keep them like other Veggies

You can store beets the same way you store other vegies with roots like cabbage, green beans, etc. If you want to store beets and any other root vegetable, you should cut off the tops so that they could not be able to draw moisture from the vegetable and make it soft and syrupy.

However, they do get soft and mushy over time, but it would be slower than without the tops.

When you have some of the leftover cooked beets, they would be good to go for at least 3 to maybe five days.

Storing beets in the refrigerator

You should store the vegetable separately, and the most suitable place for it in the refrigerator is the vegetable drawer, in a plastic bag. It would help if you also made small holes so that no moisture could be trapped inside the plastic bag.

Keeping them in a plastic bag would prevent them from getting soft, dry, and wrinkled. You can also store them in a root cellar if you cannot use the fridge.

Storing beets at room temperature

You can also store beets at room temperature. You have to put them into a container or a box and place them in a cold and moist place.

Can you freeze Beets?

Yes, beets can be frozen. And there is various way to do that. You can also cook them before freezing them if you want to. Here is a method to freeze cooked beets.

Choose firm and young beets. Then clean the beets by scrubbing them, put them in a pot to boil underwater for 20 to 25 minutes, then transfer the beets in cold water till they cool down. Then peel off their skin and cut the beets into small chunks.

Next you can spread them on a cooking sheet and put them in the refrigerator. Once they are fully frozen, you can store them in freezer bags. They can be used for over a year or more.

How long does Beets last?

Beets can sit in storage for up to 3 months. If you are keeping the beets at room temperature, they will be at their best for about 3 to 5 days. It also depends on the environment or the temperature you are living in.

As mentioned above, this period is for the fresh and firm beets, also if they are best in the quality.

How to Tell If Beets Is Bad?

Like every other vegetable, beets do god bad after a while. If you have cooked beets in your fridge for longer than 5 to 6 days, then you don’t have to check them; you should immediately throw them away. Here are the signs that would let you know that your vegetable now has no use for you:

Mold Growth: There would be signs of molds, which means that the vegetable has gone bad.
Foul Smell: Beets have usually a very pleasant and fresh earthly smell. But when you sense a rotten smell, then know that the beets are completely gone. It is not always like this; rotten beets may not always have a rotten smell, but they will lose their earthly smell, and you may sense an unpleasant smell. If it is overbearing, then you should throw them away.
Change in Appearance: Beets are usually very strong to touch. But when you notice any change in their texture, like they start to get softer or mushy, you should discard them because they have no use for you.