The Beet (Beta vulgaris) is a flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae, native to the coasts of western and southern Europe, from southern Sweden and the British Isles south to the Mediterranean Sea.
It is a herbaceous biennial or perennial plant with leafy stems growing to 1-2 m tall. The leaves are heart-shaped, 5-20 cm long on wild plants (often much larger in cultivated plants). The flowers are produced in dense spikes, each flower very small, 3-5 mm diameter, green or tinged reddish, with five petals; they are wind-pollinated. The fruit is a cluster of hard nutlets.
There are two subspecies:
* Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima. Sea Beet. Northwestern Europe. Plant smaller, to 80 cm tall; root not swollen.
* Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris. Mediterranean Europe. Plant larger, to 2 m tall; with a rounded fleshy taproot. The ancestor of the cultivated beets (not subsp. maritima, as sometimes stated).
The cultivated forms are thought to have come from sea-coast plants of Europe and Asia. With the imposition of the blockade of the continent during the Napoleonic wars there was a impetus to develop beet for their sugar content. The white Silesian beet, which was a fodder crop, received attention.
Cultivation and uses
The root and leaves of subsp. vulgaris are edible and an important food crop. Numerous cultivars have been selected and bred for several different characteristics; the major Cultivar Groups are:
* Beetroot or table beet (or, in the 19th century, "blood turnip") used as a root vegetable.
* Fodder beet wurzel or mangold used as animal fodder.
* Sugar beet grown for sugar.
* Chard, a beet which has been bred for leaves instead of roots and is used as a leaf vegetable.
Beetroot can be cooked and then eaten warm with butter (after having been peeled) as a delicacy; cooked and pickled and then eaten cold as a condiment; or peeled raw and shredded and then eaten as a salad. The leaves and stems can be steamed briefly as a vegetable, although this is preferably done with young plants. These and older leaves and stems can be sliced and stir-fried and have a flavour resembling taro leaves. The stems can also cooked with black beans to increase their nutritional value. The red color in the beet roots (betacyanin) causes red urine and feces in some people who are unable to break it down.
Beets are used as a food plant by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species — see List of Lepidoptera which feed on Beet.
Reputed medicinal uses
Various cultivated forms of Beta vulgaris have been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times.
The Romans used beetroot as a treatment for fevers and constipation, amongst other ailments. Apicius in The Art of Cooking gives five recipes for soups to be given as a laxative, three of which feature the root of beet. Hippocrates advocated the use of Beet leaves as binding for wounds.
Since Roman times beetroot juice has been considered an aphrodisiac. It is a rich source of the mineral boron which plays an important role in the production of human sex hormones.
From the middle ages beetroot became used as a treatment for a variety of conditions, especially illnesses relating to digestion and the blood. Platina even recomends taking beetroot with garlic to nullify the effects of 'garlic-breath'.
Nutritional information (beetroot/table beet)
Beets contain significant amounts of vitamin C in the roots, and the tops are an excellent source of vitamin A. They are also high in folate, as well as soluble and insoluble dietary fiber and several antioxidants.
Beetroot is among the sweetest of vegetables, containing more sugar even than carrots or sweet corn. The content in beetroot is no more than 10%, in the sugar beet it is typically 15 to 20%. The characteristic "earthy" taste of a beet comes from the presence of the chemical compound geosmin. It is unknown whether beets produce geosmin themselves, or whether it is produced by symbiotic soil microbes living in the plant.
An average sized cup (250 ml) of sliced beets will contain:
* Food energy 31 cal (130 kJ)
* Carbohydrate 8.5 g
* Dietary fiber 1.5 g
* Folate 53.2 µg
* Phosphorus 32 mg
* Potassium 259 mg
* Protein 1.5 g
Beetroot color
It is a popular misconception that the color of beetroot is due to a pigment known as anthocyanin which is the pigment in red cabbage. It is, in fact, due to a purple pigment betacyanin and a yellow pigment betaxanthin known collectively as betalins. There are other breeds of beetroot which are not the usual deep red, like 'Burpee's Golden' with an orange red skin and yellow flesh and the white 'Albina Vereduna.' These have a greater or lesser distribution of the two betalin pigments.
The pigments are contained in cell vacuoles. Beetroot cells are quite unstable and will 'leak' when cut, heated, or when in contact with air or sunlight. This is why red beetroots leave a purple stain. Leaving the skin on when cooking, however, will maintain the integrity of the cells and therefore minimise leakage.
The pigment is stabile in acidic conditions, which is a major reason why beetroot is often pickled. In the United States, it is the traditional colorant for pink lemonade. Beet juice is also a common choice for edible ink, like when marking grades on cuts of meat.