Beets: The Summer Vegetable That Can't Be Beat!

Beets: The Summer Vegetable That Can’t Be Beat!

When beets were first discovered to be edible, their greens were most valued. Now, however, most people think the beetroot is the best. Red beets are the most popular, but they also come in yellow or white. They can be golf ball size or as big as a baseball. For details on planting and harvesting beets, click here.

Fun Facts:

• In Australia, pickled beets are served on hamburgers rather than cucumber pickles.
• During World War II, beets proved to be the vegetable that dehydrated the best for use as a ration.
• In colonial times, beet dye was used to add color to icing for cakes and to make pink pancakes.
• Beet dye is used now for lemonade, tomato sauce on frozen pizzas, and in the ink butchers use to label meat.
• In 1975 when the Apollo 18 spacecraft and the Soviet Union’s Soyuz 19 linked up in space, the cosmonauts served the astronauts beet soup  squeezed from tubes.

Recipes:

• The Mustardy Beet Salad recipe found on page 62 of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Comfort Food Cookbook is a creamy kaleidoscope of color.
• Check out this recipe for Couscous topped with raspberry roasted beets, goat cheese, walnuts, shallots, and beet greens for an exquisite summer dish.
• A recipe for delicious Beet, Egg, and Herring Salad can be found on page 42 of Cooking Fresh with The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
• Try this hearty Beets and Potatoes Au Gratin dish as a great way to incorporate beets into your diet.

Or you can try a simple beet and veggie salad!