Ease of Peeling

• If your beets are fully cooked, they'll peel just as easily if they've been boiled or baked. In fact, with both cooking methods, seeing if the beets peel easily is a way to determine whether they're fully cooked. Whether the beets are in the oven or on the stovetop in a pot of boiling water, remove one with a pair of tongs, wait until it's cool enough to handle, and then test to see whether you can easily rub away the skin.

Differences in Texture

• Baking concentrates flavor by cooking away moisture. Baked beets are chewier than boiled ones. Boiling beets leaves them moist and tender, making them almost buttery. Baked beets are best in salads, where their texture complements crispy vegetables. The texture of baked beets is best for soups, especially pureed soups such as borscht. However, you can achieve the tenderness typical of boiled beets if you wrap them in foil before baking them.

Managing Your Time

• It takes 50 to 60 minutes to bake medium-size beets at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, although you can speed up the cooking time by heating them in a hotter oven. Baking them at 350 to 375 degrees F takes about 15 minutes longer, though you're less likely to overcook them and make them leathery. Medium-size boiled beets cook in about 45 minutes. If you're in a hurry, boiling beets is better than baking them, although there isn't a significant time difference between the two methods.

Space Constraints

• The relative merit of baking beets versus boiling them also depends on what else you're cooking. When most of your cooking for the meal takes place on the stovetop, it's prudent to keep burners free whenever possible so it's best to bake the beets in the oven. If you're preparing a lasagna and roasted vegetables and only have two shelves in your oven, it's best to boil beets on the stovetop.