Beetroot

The beetroot (British English) or beet (North American English) is the taproot portion of a Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris plant in the Conditiva Group. The plant is a root vegetable also known as the table beet, garden beet, dinner beet, or else categorized by color: red beet or golden beet. It is also a leaf vegetable called beet greens. Beetroot can be eaten raw, roasted, steamed, or boiled. Beetroot can also be canned, either whole or cut up, and often are pickled, spiced, or served in a sweet-and-sour sauce.
It is one of several cultivated varieties of Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris grown for their edible taproots or leaves, classified as belonging to the Conditiva Group. Other cultivars of the same subspecies include the sugar beet, the leaf vegetable known as spinach beet (Swiss chard), and the fodder crop mangelwurzel.
Beta is the ancient Latin name for beetroot, possibly of Celtic origin, becoming bete in Old English. Root derives from the late Old English rōt, itself from Old Norse rót.
The domestication of beetroot can be traced to the emergence of an allele that enables biennial harvesting of leaves and taproot. Beetroot was domesticated in the ancient Middle East, primarily for their greens, and were grown by the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. By the Roman era, it is thought that they were also cultivated for their roots. From the Middle Ages, beetroot was used to treat various conditions, especially illnesses relating to digestion and the blood. Bartolomeo Platina recommended taking beetroot with garlic to nullify the effects of "garlic-breath".
During the middle of the 17th century, wine often was colored with beetroot juice.
Food shortages in Europe following World War I caused great hardships, including cases of mangelwurzel disease, as relief workers called it. It was symptomatic of eating only beetroot.
Usually, the deep purple roots of beetroot are eaten boiled, roasted, or raw, and either alone or combined with any salad vegetable. The green, leafy portion of the beetroot is also edible. The young leaves can be added raw to salads, while the mature leaves are most commonly served boiled or steamed, in which case they have a taste and texture similar to spinach. Beetroot can be roasted, boiled or steamed, peeled, and then eaten warm with or without butter; cooked, pickled, and then eaten cold as a condiment; or peeled, shredded raw, and then eaten as a salad. Pickled beetroot is a traditional food in many countries.
In Australia and New Zealand, sliced pickled beetroot is a common ingredient in traditional hamburgers.
In Eastern Europe, beetroot soup, such as borscht [Ukrainian] and barszcz czerwony [Polish], is common. In Ukraine, a related dish called "shpundra" is also common; this hearty beetroot stew, often made with pork belly or ribs, is sometimes referred to as a thicker version of borscht. In Poland and Ukraine, beetroot is combined with horseradish to form ćwikła or бурячки (buryachky), which is traditionally used with cold cuts and sandwiches, but often also added to a meal consisting of meat and potatoes.
Similarly, in Serbia, beetroot (referred to by the local name cvekla) is used as winter salad, seasoned with salt and vinegar, with meat dishes.
As an addition to horseradish, it is also used to produce the "red" variety of chrain, a condiment in Ashkenazi Jewish, Hungarian, Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, and Ukrainian cuisine.
Cold beetroot soup called "Šaltibarščiai" is very popular in Lithuania. Traditionally it consists of kefir, boiled beetroot, cucumber, dill, spring onions and can be eaten with boiled eggs and potatoes.
Botvinya [ru] is an old-time traditional Russian cold soup made from leftover beet greens and chopped beetroots, typically with bread and kvass added. Botvinya got its name from the Russian botva, which means "root vegetable greens", referring to beet plant leaves.
Svekolnik [ru], or svyokolnik, is yet another Russian beet-based soup, typically distinguished from borscht in that vegetables for svekolnik are cooked raw and not sauteed, while many types of borscht typically include sauteed carrots and other vegetables. Svekolnik got its name from svyokla, Russian word for "beet." Sometimes, various types of cold borscht are also called "svekolnik".
In Indian cuisine, chopped, cooked, spiced beetroot is a common side dish. Yellow-colored beetroots are grown on a very small scale for home consumption.
Besides standard fruit and vegetable dishes, certain varieties of beets are sometimes used as a garnish to a tart.
A common dish in Sweden and elsewhere in the Nordic countries is Biff à la Lindström, a variant of meatballs or burgers, with chopped or grated beetroot added to the minced meat.
In Northern Germany, beetroot is mashed with Labskaus or added as its side order.
A large proportion of commercial production is processed into boiled and sterilized beetroot or pickles.
Betanin, obtained from the roots, is used industrially as red food colorant to enhance the color and flavor of tomato paste, sauces, desserts, jams and jellies, ice cream, candy, and breakfast cereals. When beetroot juice is used, it is most stable in foods with low water content, such as frozen novelties and fruit fillings.
Beetroot can be used to make wine.
Raw beetroot is 88% water, 10% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and less than 1% fat (see table). In a 100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) amount providing 180 kilojoules (43 kilocalories) of food energy, raw beetroot is a rich source (27% of the Daily Value (DV)) of folate and a moderate source (16% DV) of manganese, with other nutrients having insignificant content (table).
A clinical trial review reported that consumption of beetroot juice modestly reduced systolic blood pressure but not diastolic blood pressure.
The red color compound betanin is a betalain in the category of betacyanins. It is not broken down in the body, and in higher concentrations, may temporarily cause urine or stools to assume a reddish color, in the case of urine a condition called beeturia.
Although harmless, this effect may cause initial concern as a medical problem due to a visual similarity with blood in the stool, blood passing through the anus (hematochezia), or blood in the urine (hematuria).
Nitrosamine formation in beetroot juice can reliably be prevented by adding ascorbic acid.
Below is a list of several commonly available cultivars of beetroot. Generally, 55 to 65 days are needed from germination to harvest of the root. All cultivars can be harvested earlier for use as greens. Unless otherwise noted, the root colors are shades of red and dark red, with different degrees of zoning noticeable in slices.