You can prepare beet or carrot tops for the winter in different ways. The most common are pickling and freezing. Some cooks practice salting: the leaves are chopped into pieces, then layered in a dry jar, alternating with salt. Such a preserve is stored in a cool, dry place and used mainly in borscht. That said, you can remove the excess salt by rinsing the leaves in water through a colander. Then beet tops can be used as a filling in pies and hand pies.
The Five most commonly used ingredients in Winter Tops Recipes:
| Product | Calories per 100g | Protein g per 100g | Fats g per 100g | Carbohydrates g per 100g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrot tops | 35 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 5.3 |
| Sugar | 398 | 0 | 0 | 99.7 |
| Tomatoes | 23 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 3.8 |
| Beet tops | 12 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 5 |
| Vinegar | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Beet tops can be boiled for a few minutes before canning. Separate preserves look prettier: "tops" and "roots". The firmer stems separate from the soft leaves and are canned in other jars. If the stems are tender and juicy, you do not need to do anything with them — just pack them into jars and pour in hot marinade. It is best to pour boiling water over the tougher stems for three minutes. It is also worth pouring boiling water over any tops that are too dirty.
Carrot tops are harvested for winter for medicinal purposes and for use in other preserves or dishes. In the first case it is better to dry them and store them in tightly sealed dry jars, then brew decoctions and tea from them. In the second case the tops can be salted and added instead of salt. It is also a good idea to keep them frozen. This requires only clean plastic bags and a freezer.
The five fastest recipes for harvesting tops for winter:
| Name of the dish | Cooking time | Calories per 100g | User Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| How to freeze raw beets and beet tops for winter | 20 min | 35 | +9 |
| Carrot tops with herbs and dill for winter | 25 min | 24 | +20 |
| Frozen mix of carrot and beet tops | 25 min | 24 | +15 |
| Pickled beet and carrot tops | 35 min | 62 | +27 |
| Borscht dressing from carrot tops and sorrel | 35 min | 19 | +21 |
Tips and tricks:
- separate the leaves and stalks from the beet tops and can them apart from each other
- pickled beet leaves are a great ingredient for salads
- beet leaves are good for wrapping cabbage rolls
- tea made from dried carrot tops is a good remedy for swelling