Page 26 - Today's Dietitian (February 2020)

Beets

The History, Myriad Uses, and Health Benefits
Y
of These Beloved Roots

You may think of the beet as a humble root vegetable, but this In addition to the culinary uses of the greens and root,
ruby red veggie has an extensive history, diversity, and culi- beets were used to create a form of sugar. In 1747, a Berlin
nary possibility hidden beneath the surface. Discover the chemist named Andreas Sigismund Marggraf discovered a
origins of the beet we know today, the many shades of color way to create sucrose from the humble beet. It wasn’t until
and varieties it comes in, the powerful health benefits asso- Marggraf’s student, Franz Achard, perfected the method for
ciated with it, and the many ways it can be used and enjoyed extracting sugar from beets that the rise in products such as
in the kitchen. beet beer, molasses, and other beet sugar–containing foods
began to flood the market.
History This sweet alternative rose in popularity even more when
Despite their array of culinary uses in today’s kitchens, beets Napoleon banned all sugar imports in 1813. This cut off supplies
weren’t always widely used or consumed. The earliest record of both sugar and products made with sugar cane, leaving a
1,3
of beets’ existence can be traced back to the Egyptians, where wide open market for beet sugar. To this day, beets account
beet remains were discovered in Thebes, Egypt. The earliest for about 20% to 30% of the world’s sugar production. 1,3,4
th
written mention of the beet is from 8 century BC, when it Both the roots and leaves of beets have a history of medici-
was described as being similar to the radish. 1 nal uses as well. The Romans used beets as a treatment for a
While it remains unknown whether beets were part of number of ailments, including constipation and fevers, and in
the Egyptian diet, it’s believed that consuming beets origi- the Middle Ages for illnesses involving digestion and blood. 1
nated along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Here they Beets first made their way to the United States with Euro-
were cultivated not for their bulbous root but for their leafy pean immigrants in the early 19 century. By then, the beet
th
green tops, which were consumed in a similar fashion to had evolved into its modern-day bulbous shape and deep red
2,3
Swiss chard. Beet greens were so well liked that ancient hue. With their earthy flavor and vibrant color, beets now are
Romans and Greeks developed a method to grow beets in the available, used, and enjoyed worldwide.
hot summer months, outside of the normal growing season
in the spring and fall. Botany
The first account of the root being consumed can be traced The scientific name for the common beetroot plant is Beta
back to the early 1500s, either in Germany or Italy. Early beet- vulgaris, which stems from the Latin words for “beet” and
root plants more closely resembled a carrot or parsnip than “common.” It goes by many other names such as the Euro-
the bulbous shape we recognize today. pean sugar beet, red garden beet, Harvard beet, blood turnip,
Beets weren’t always a deep red color, either. Beets in Greek mangelwurzel, mangel, spinach beet, and, most commonly,
and Roman times were either black or white, as opposed to the simply a beet. The beetroot plant is an ancestor of the wild
2
red, white, and yellow varieties available today. Worldwide sea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima), which most likely
consumption of beets didn’t occur until they were recognized originates from the Mediterranean. 4
as being one of the few vegetables that grew well in the winter. Beta vulgaris encompasses four varieties of plants: Swiss
Soon, they became a staple food in northeastern Europe. 3 chard, garden beets (simply, beets), mangelwurzel, and sugar

26 TODAY’S DIETITIAN • FEBRUARY 2020