B is for Beets

The beet (Beta vulgaris) is a plant in the beet root family. It is best known its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is probably the red root vegetable known as the garden beet. However, other cultivated varieties include the leaf vegetables chard and spinach beet, as well as the root vegetables sugar beet, which is important in the production of table sugar, and mangelwurzel, which is a fodder crop. Three subspecies are typically recognised. All cultivated varieties fall into the subspecies Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, while Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima, commoly known as the sea beet, is the wild ancestor of these and is found throughout the Mediterranean, the Atlantic coast of Europe, the Near East, and India. A second wild subspecies, Beta vulgaris subsp. adanensis, occurs from Greece to Syria.

The beet has a long history of cultivation stretching back to the second millennium BC. The plant was probably domesticated somewhere along the Mediterranean, whence it was later spread to Babylonia by the 8th century BC and as far east as China by 850 AD. Available evidence, such as that provided by Aristotle and Theophrastus suggests that the leafy varieties of the beet were grown primarily for most of its history, though these lost much of their popularity much later following the introduction of spinach. The beet became highly commercially important in 19th century Europe following the development of the sugar beet in Germany and the discovery that sucrose could be extracted from them, providing an alternative to tropical sugar cane. It remains a widely cultivated commercial crop for producing table sugar.

University of Wisconsin, Madison Meet Professor Irwin Goldman, who considers beets a rare treasure!

LoveToKnow Beet & Horseradish Sandwich, Beet & Potato Sandwich, Beet & Sardine Sandwich, Beet & Sweet Potato Soup, Beet & Wax Bean Soup, Beet Cream Soup, Beet Fritters, Beet Greens with Young Beets, Beet Relish, Beet Salad Farci, Beet & Potato Salad, Beets au Gratin, Buttered Beets, Beet, Pear & Nut Salad, and more.

Delicious Organics Beet & Arugula Salad, Beet Soup with Cilantro Pesto, Chilled Beet Soup, Borscht, Glazed Baby Beets, Roasted Beet Salad, Beet Salad with Feta, Roasted Beets in Puff Pastry, Beet & Apple Salad, Watercress, Roasted Beets & Goat Cheese Salad, Roasted Beet Salad with Blue Cheese, Beet Salad with Oranges, Red Risotto, Red (Beet) Velvet Chocolate Cake, and more.

AllRecipes.com Beet, Walnut & Prune Salad, Roasted Beet, Crab & Vegetable Soup, Beet & Pear Puree, Beetroot Relish, Cold Russian Borscht, Garlicky Beet Delight, Roasted Beets 'n Sweets, Roasted Beet Wedges, German-Style Beet Salad, Ukranian Borscht, and more.

Schrute-Space: Beets and Me
Beet Leaf Photograph by tilo driessen ~ Flickr
Rows of Beets Photograph by tataAnne ~ Flickr
Beet Marshmallow Photograph by Jocelyn | McAuliflower ~ Flickr

© 2009 Kim Giancaterino

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