Beetroot

Beetroot, also called red beet or garden beet, is a root vegetable with a bright red colour. It belongs to the same plant family as chard and sugar beet. Its homeland is on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Western Asia. From there it spread to many countries because it is hardy, needs little care and stores well. Today beetroot is grown across Europe, in parts of North America and also in cooler regions of Asia. It prefers a temperate climate but also grows reliably in cooler summers.

Availability throughout the year
Beetroot has different harvest times depending on the region, but is available almost all year round:

Origin and cultivation
The plant originally derives from the wild beet that grew on seashores. People bred it over many centuries until the round, coloured bulbs we know today emerged. Beetroot is mostly grown outdoors. It needs loose soil so the bulbs become round and even. In organic and hobby gardens attention is often paid to diversity, so you more frequently find different colours and shapes there. Larger farms grow standardized varieties that deliver uniform sizes, which is practical for trade.

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris var. conditiva) is a cultivated form of the common beet and belongs to the family Amaranthaceae. It is valued for its intensely red storage root, which is significant both culinarily and for health. Characteristic are the round to cylindrical roots, whose colour is due to the high content of betacyanins. Beetroot is cultivated in temperate climates worldwide and is considered a robust, relatively cold-tolerant crop with moderate water requirements and medium nutrient demands.

Botany and morphology: The plant forms a fleshy root of parenchyma tissue in which carbohydrates (mainly sucrose) and secondary plant compounds are stored. The leaves are long-petioled, slightly wavy and, depending on the cultivar, show distinctly reddened vascular bundles. The flowering stalk is biennial, with inconspicuous wind-pollinated inflorescences. The root system is fibrous and relatively shallow, but responds sensitively to waterlogging. Cultivar variants include classic dark-red forms, ring-striped types (e.g. Chioggia) and yellow selections, which differ in pigment profile, taste and texture.

Constituents and nutritional profile: Beetroot is characterised by a dense matrix of vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds. Per 100 g typical contents are: carbohydrates 8–10 g (of which sugars 6–7 g), fibre 2–3 g, protein 1–2 g, fat <0.2 g. Noteworthy are folate (vitamin B9), vitamin C (heat-sensitive, therefore higher in the raw state), potassium, manganese and iron. The root contains notable amounts of nitrates, betalains (betanin, isobetanin) as well as phenolic acids and flavonoids to a lesser extent. Oxalic acid is present in moderate concentrations.

Pigments and chemistry: The red pigment betanin belongs to the betacyanins, a subgroup of the betalains, structurally derived from betalaminic acid analogues.