Beet It!

Meet the Beets.

 Here is a brief introduction to beets.
If you have a favorite beet recipe you would like to share, please do.

Beets scientific name is Beta vulgaris 

General types of beets:
Tuberous beets- taproot of the plant * most have a brilliant scarlet color thanks to pigments betacyanin(purple)  and betaxanthin (yellow)

Garden beets- 

if you don't have the gene to break down the pigment betacyanin you will have red or purple urine after eating beets

Sugar beets- 

high in  sucrose and account for 30% of world's sugar

 Fodder beets

( mangelwurzel)

Spinach beets- grown for greens- Chard is a form of beta vulgaris

Beets are believed to be derived from the sea beet from the shores of the Mediterrean and Atlantic coasts of Europe and North Africa. ( The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson).
Check out the chemical structures of galactose and sucrose:
http://www.3dchem.com/molecules.asp?ID=419#
http://www.3dchem.com/molecules.asp?ID=59

How to eat?
To preserve the phytochemical pigments eat your beets raw or cook them as quickly as possible.

Recipe from15-Minute Beets

Prep and Cook Time: 5 minute prep; 15 minute cooking Ingredients: 3 medium beets, about 3" in diameter 1 medium clove garlic, pressed or chopped 2 tsp fresh lemon juice 1 TBS balsamic vinegar 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste Optional: 1 TBS balsamic vinegar 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped 1 TBS chopped dill 1 TBS chopped chives 2 TBS Feta cheese

Directions:

1. Fill the bottom of a steamer with 2 inches of water.
2. While the water is coming to a boil, wash beets, leaving 2 inches of tap root and 1 inch of the stem on the beets. Cut beets into quarters. Do not peel.
3. Steam covered for 15 minutes. Beets are cooked when you can easily insert a fork on the tip of a knife into the beet. Although some of their colorful phytonutrients are lost to the steaming water, there is plenty of color and nutrients left in the beets.
4. Press or chop garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their health-promoting properties.
5. Peel beets using a paper towel.
6. Transfer beets to a bowl and toss with remaining ingredients while they are still hot.
   Serves 2

Source: www.WHFoods.com