Unfortunately, most people have only experienced canned or pickled beets, what I refer to as “salad bar beets”, which are pale, bland versions of this most delicious root. I can't say I blame someone who doesn't like canned beets but without giving fresh beets a try, they are really missing out. There are many ways to prepare beets and one favorite method is slow roasted in a sweet and savory balsamic vinegar glaze (recipe here at TAO). Beets can be grated raw into salads, slow roasted, boiled or juiced (beet juice is delicious mixed with carrot juice). Beets can even be made into preserves and jellies.
Beets, like so many root vegetables, are very good for you. They are high in folic acid (great for pregnant women), potassium, calcium and antioxidants (betacyanin, which is what gives beets their rich red color). And the root is not the only part of the beet that can be eaten. Leafy beet greens are also very nutritious and can be used for juicing, or cooking as you would any other green. In fact they are very similar to Swiss chard (which is as it should be, because they are first cousins). Beet greens are actually the more significantly nutritious part of a beet plant and contain more iron, vitamin A, potassium and calcium than the roots.“Beet juice is rich in natural sugar, sodium, sulphur, chlorine, iodine, copper and vitamin B1, B2, C and bioflavonoids. Some holistic practitioners believe that beet juice combined with other juices like carrot and cucumber are excellent for cleansing the kidneys and gallbladder and for restoring health to these organs. Additionally, beet, being a fibrous root, is excellent for aiding in and eliminating constipation. The fiber adds bulk to the diet and therefore helps to improve peristalsis activity in the large intestine” (Info from HealthyDiet.com)
Beets are one of my favorite vegetables, hands down. Sweet, earthy, rich are all words I would use to describe the flavor of beets. As a child my grandmother grew Crosby's Egyptian beets, which she pickled with cloves and honey. Before they could be pickled, they had to be prepared so, she would scrub the beet roots and then boil them in a big kettle on her stove. They smelled wonderful. When they were done, she would put 3 or 4 in a bowl to cool down a little. I'd slip off the skins and eat those warm beets right then and there. That is one of my favorite childhood food memories and to this day, there is nothing I like better than beets eaten in this fashion.
Beets are amazing all around. Their color along makes them royal among the root veggies. The juice of beets can be used as a beautiful dye (I have used it to color everything from soaps to fabric to food. However, it does fade rather quickly when exposed to bright sunlight. ) The red color from the the heirloom 'Bull's Blood' beet variety is the only red food coloring allowed in Sweden, according to the Missouri Botanical Garden website.
