Beets

Beets as a food go way back to the beginning of recorded history. They grew naturally along the coasts of the Mediterranian. The beet greens were the first part of the plant that people would consume. The beet root was not cultivated until the ancient Romans.

In the 1800's the natural sweetness of the beets was cultivated and eventually was used as a sugar source. Napoleon was one of the first to use beets for sugar after the British restricted sugar cane availability. This started a love affair with beets as primary source of sugar. Unfortunately many sugar beets are now genetically modified.

The beets we are going to consider are neither GMOs or used for sugar. They are...

The deep red varities typically found in the garden.

Beets are being heralded as one of the latest "super foods" and for good reason as beets conntain an amazing array of health boosting nutrients that would be hard to find in other vegetable sources.

Fresh beets are delicious and nutritious.

From late June to mid winter is beet season in Minnesota. The first beets of the spring are typically found in June in the local farmers markets. Beets are harvested after the first frosts for storage and hold well in storage all winter.

In our next posts we will look at the health benefits of eating beets and some very healthy recipes.