Valuable to combat the signs of aging, take vitamins and minerals and protect the health of our heart. Here's how to taste beets and learn to really know them
Often the word beet is associated with the idea of something unappetizing, eaten forcibly on rare occasions and little present on our table. But losing touch with what is often called red turnip, it would be a real shame. It is indeed a ingredient rich in properties, low-calorie and low glycemic index known since the Babylonian era.
The most common varieties
One of the most widespread, is the flat black Egyptian beet, while in the US the most known and consumed is Detroit. Italian production instead offers the round of Chioggia, very easy to distinguish from the others thanks to the white and red rings that once it has been cut. The sugar beet and the fodder that is called are also widespread red mammouth. Also intended for the table there chard, Characterized by large leaves of a bright green color.
A full of minerals and antioxidants
Consisting of 90% of water, beetroot is a plant rich in minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. Its renowned detoxifying, purifying and digestive properties make it perfect for those who are following a program detox where it is recommended to take it mainly as a decoction. The mineral salts most present in this health concentrate are iron, potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium and phosphorus and is a valuable integrator of vitamins of group B and C. To take vitamin A, we will have to consume its leaves. In addition to being so important at a nutritional level, beets are also considered an elixir of youth thanks to the abundant presence of antioxidants including flavonoids, saponins and anthocyanins.
Because we should not do without it
The consumption of beet favors the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and helps to regulate blood pressure. It is also indicated for lose weight (especially if raw) and favors the drainage of toxins and liquids. Ideal for those suffering from kidney stones due to the presence of calcium and for pregnant women (provides folic acid) is instead not recommended for diabetics and for those suffering from gastritis. The high presence of sugars and the stimulation to the production of gastric juices must in fact be taken into consideration by those who suffer from these diseases.
How to consume
Beetroot can be eaten uncooked served simply with oil and lemon in salad. To appreciate it at best, it is advisable to cut it into very thin slices to avoid clashing with its important consistency. Instead, Cotta lends itself to being boiled, prepared in the oven and sautéed in a pan. But we must not forget that it can also be added to centrifuges or inserted in special extractors to consume the precious juice.
Our proposals
One of the most interesting methods to approach beet is to taste it in sauce. In the gallery below, you will find recipes dedicated to this preparation such as beef skewers with Ketchup beet, salted kaiserschmarrn with beet cream and beetroot, rice and artichokes. If you are still not convinced, you will surrender to its charm with the Tempura of fennel and beet and l'Russian salad with smoked herring and beetroot. To taste it simply, instead, we prepared beetroot and soncino with goat's cream, soup beet and mixed meats, beetroot and daikon with provola and an appetizer of beetroot, hard-boiled eggs and mackerel. Instead you will discover a surprisingly good filling with i ravioli of beet.
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