Fresh beets have lately become as common on fine-dining restaurant menus as they once were in sensible root cellars. With hues ranging from yellow to purple, they lend themselves to dramatic presentations as few other vegetables do. Factor in their texture, which holds up well when baked, boiled, roasted, or julienned raw, and their sweetness, which pairs equally well with butter or vinegar and citrus, and you have a vegetable destined to become a star.

But where trained chefs bravely go, home cooks sometimes fear to tread. Fresh beets offer great color, flavor, and texture, but preparing them can be intimidating. First, there are the stems and leaves, and that thick, sometimes dirt-crusted peel. And then there's the proclivity for staining.

Preparing Beets

1. Wash the beets whole, and trim to one inch from the stem to minimize bleeding before placing on a foil-lined baking sheet.

2. After cooking, trim off about 1/4 inch of the beet roots.

3. Rub off the skins. They should slip off easily after cooking.

Here's a smart tip for handling beets: use disposable latex gloves from the drugstore. They're thin enough to allow dexterity while protecting hands from stains.

Picking the Best

More beet varieties are becoming available, with golden-hued roots appearing in farm markets recently.

When selecting fresh beets, buy small to medium globes with stems and leaves attached; firm, smooth skin; and no soft spots.

If storing, immediately trim stems to about one inch. Beets will keep in plastic bags in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.