Dateline: 11 January 2017
In My Previous Blog Post I showed you how I was making my own beet powder, using some of my own homegrown beets. Now I need to wrap up this series by showing you the final product. Here's what the full tray of fresh shredded beets you see above looked like after a few hours in the dehydrator...
They look like they're scorched, but they're not. I dried them at the medium setting of 115°. The shreds are just totally dehydrated raw beets.
In my previous post I showed how I used a Vitamix blender to shred some beets in water. I was concerned that too much of the beet goodness went into the water. Well, in this next picture you can see the Vitamix-shredded beets in my hand, compared to the dried beets shredded by hand (that are in the bowl)...
Wow. The Vitamix-shreds were so bleached out looking that I decided not to use them. I threw them away. Then I took the dark shreds and put them in the Vitamix for shredding...
I know from experience that a Vitamix blender is adept at making powder out of dried vegetables. I have a vintage Vitamix—a hulking chrome beauty—that I used in the past to convert my homegrown garlic into garlic powder. Longtime readers of my blog writings may recall that I had a home business making and selling Herrick's Homegrown Stiffneck Garlic Powder. Click Here to read about it.
I even wrote a little book titled, The Complete Guide To Making Great Garlic Powder. And in the very first pdf tutorial I ever put together I show in pictures the process of turning fresh garlic bulbs into garlic powder, using the big old Vitamix. The pdf is only $1.50. Check It Out if you have an interest in the subject.
Here is what those dried beet shreds looked like after a few seconds of grinding in the Vitamix...
The new Vitamix powderizes better than my vintage Vitamix. Much better. We bought the new model primarily to make smoothies and juices because we're transitioning from nearly two decades of using a Champion juicer to juice fruits and vegetables. The Champion makes juice without pulp, while the the Vitamix liquifies vegetables and fruits, rendering a juice with the pulp. We tried to make juice-with-pulp using the vintage Vitamix, but it does not do the job as well as these newer models.
Back to the subject of beet powder...
The homemade beet powder is a beautiful pinkish color. Actually, I think it is more on the mauve side. And it has a wonderful, sweet, beet taste. Marlene has added the powder to smoothies, and I have mixed it with yogurt.
Making beet powder is easy and it is a way to utilize any garden beets that get oversized. I'm sure it's not as good for a body as fresh beets. But it is another preservation option, and here in the middle of January, with my garden in a deep freeze, it's a treat to have some homemade beet powder from my own homegrown beets.
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Click Here to go to the beginning post in this 4-part series.
I've really enjoyed this series! Very interesting and informative :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'm pleased to know you liked it.
DeleteI agree with the comment by FatJuniesFarmette; really enjoyed this tutorial. I really like beets and will be making beet powder asap. Thank you Herrick.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I think you will like the beet powder. It is surprisingly sweet.
DeleteI am intrigued, Herrick. Are you planning to somehow measure your health to see if there other physical improvement?
ReplyDeleteNo. My health plan at this point is to just eat as much good food from my own garden as I can, avoid all the processed storebought store food I can, stay away from high fructose corn syrup, soy, and as much ice cream and gluten as I can. The latter two being the most difficult.
DeleteElizabeth L. Johnson said,
ReplyDeleteRecently ,in my family, a person has been diagnosed with hepatitis C. My research has discovered that beets and garlic are extraordinary contributors to guarding against cancer in the liver! So interesting that you would bring up these vegetables just now in your blog!
I'm sorry to hear that. One of the many things I don't miss about my state prison job is being in an environment where so many people are sick, with hepatitis being very prevalent. I like the "guarding against" concept of eating.
DeleteI've enjoyed this series (as with pretty much everything you write), Herrick - thanks for sharing. I do recall you writing about your Vitamix blender many years ago. If I recall correctly, I think you said the reason you picked that particular model was its ability to instantly reverse? Was that the case, and if so, what model is it?
ReplyDeleteHi Chad,
DeleteYou have a better memory than I do. I think you are right in that it will instant reverse. I haven't used it in some time, and it is now wrapped up and packed away. I'll see if I can find it post the model number.
Hi Herrick - if it's packed away, I don't want you to go through the bother of locating it. Looking at the site, I suspect that the page that it was on at one time was what became your photo tutorial PDF on how to make garlic powder. I have the book from years back so I just went ahead and bought the PDF to go with it, and there's your Vita-Mix 4000!
DeleteOh my! I must be losing my mind.
DeleteIf it had occurred to me, I would have gone to the pdf tutorial and looked.
Thanks for the purchase, Chad.
I'm going to go Google "brain foods" now and see if there is something I can eat to recover some of my thinking ability. :-(
Well done and very informative Herrick. I think I'll take some store bought organic beets and try this out. While I have some growing - their size is rather small.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
An interesting series. But doesn't it seem that a person could just eat the beets as is and reap the same benefits?
ReplyDeleteEating fresh vegetables is always better than preserved food. But, from my perspective, it isn't likely that I'll eat fresh beets every day. If I can use old beets in the garden to make a powder that is convenient to use, especially through the winter, I think that's the next best thing. Dehydrated food retains a lot more of the goodness than does cooked.
DeleteSure, that makes sense. But I was thinking more in regards to the possible cancer medicinal properties alluded to in the first part of the series.
ReplyDelete