Into a Hot Oven

• Roasting gives beets the most flavor and ease of peeling. To prepare beets for baking, scrub them thoroughly, cut off the stem at the neck and the root at the base, and double-wrap them in foil to ensure that they don't leak juice in the oven. Bake medium size beets in a 400-degree Fahrenheit oven for about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cook them until a knife slips through the beet easily or take them out partially cooked when the knife goes only halfway in and the beets have lost their rawness but are still crunchy.

A Pot of Bubbling Water

• When you don't want to use the oven or don't have access to an oven, cook washed and trimmed beets first by dropping them into salted, fully-boiling water, and peeling them when they are slightly cool. Beets take 45 minutes to 1 hour to cook until they are completely soft or less time if you prefer them still a bit crunchy. A pair of plastic gloves keeps your fingers from turning red for peeling either cooked or raw beets.

Raw Beet Salads

• Grated, raw beets sprinkled in a salad function in the same way that grated carrots do, adding color and texture. Cooked beets cut into cubes or julienned slices work well along with meat or beans to turn a salad into a meal -- use either roasted or simmered beets that are either fully or partially cooked. For an entirely raw beet salad, toss grated raw beets with grated carrots and slices of red onion and dress the salad with a garlic and lime juice vinaigrette.

Classic and Unique Beet Salads

• Beets, toasted walnuts and blue cheese dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette form a classic salad combination. For variation, combine both grated, raw beets and roasted beets in two different colors. Or elevate the combination by adding candied walnuts and orange segments to the beets, tossing in a few leaves of spicy frisee or radicchio lettuce and dressing the salad with a sherry-tarragon vinaigrette. For an unusual pairing, add a fried egg to either salad.