Beets are a sweet root vegetable that can be served hot or cold. The most common variety is a dark red and the water used to cook them turns red during the process. This is a vegetable that tolerates cold weather well so home gardeners often plant two beet crops, one in the early spring and one in the fall.
Identification
The English word, beet, can be traced directly back to its Latin name: beta vulgaris. Beets are red, yellow, or white root vegetables that are easy to grow in a garden. They can be harvested as small "baby" beets or left in the ground until late autumn just before the first hard frost. Both the roots and the greens are edible. The greens are high in vitamins A and C. Some beets are grown to be processed into sugar.
History
The first written recipe for beets is in an ancient Roman cookbook by Apicius. The ancients did not eat the roots at all so the recipe is for the beet greens. Ancient Greeks believed that beets were preferred by the god, Apollo, so they sacrificed beets to him as part of their worship. The first people to eat the beet roots were from the northern European Germanic and Russian cultures.
Types
Beets can be boiled or baked and served either hot or cold. Serve sliced boiled beets hot with melted butter and salt and pepper as a side dish. They are also delicious hot with butter, sour cream and dill or glazed with butter and orange marmalade or with horseradish and wine vinegar.
Boiled beets served cold are good sliced and covered with your favorite salad dressing. They can be baked and served with salt and butter. Beet greens are best steamed and dressed with vinegar.
Geography
Russian borsch is a favorite soup that starts with beef stock and uses beets. This turns the soup a pinkish-red. It is often garnished with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of fresh dill weed.
Prevention/Solution
To prevent beets from losing their color when boiling, do not peel them and leave about one inch of the stem connected to the whole root. After they are cooked the skin will slip off easily. Then the beets can be sliced and served in an attractive dish along with any sauces.
Considerations
Each person will eat about a half pound of beets or beet greens. The best size beet root for cooking is one and one-half to two inches in diameter. Each serving of greens contains 25 calories and each serving of beet roots contains 50 calories.
Warning
Beet juice does stain clothing, upholstery and carpets. The root has historically been used as a red dye for fabric so be very careful not to get any on your clothes. If you do, rinse it immediately with cold water to prevent the stain from setting.
Tags: baked served, beet roots, contains calories, greens best, served cold