Name: Golden beet, also called yellow beet (Beta vulgaris) — a type of beetroot with golden-orange skin and yellow flesh, with a milder, sweeter, less earthy flavour than red beets, and it does not stain.
Description
Golden beets are an heirloom variety of the same species as red beets and sugar beets, and have been grown in Europe for centuries, though they were overshadowed by the red type. Their yellow colour comes from pigments called betaxanthins instead of the red-purple betacyanins found in red beets.
Because they are lighter, they do not bleed colour into other foods, which is why they are popular for salads, where they can be mixed with red beets without turning everything pink. Their flavour is gentle, sweet and slightly buttery, with less of the earthy taste some people dislike in red beets.
Main nutrition value
Golden beets provide folate, manganese, potassium and fibre, along with betaxanthin antioxidants, and nitrates, with slightly different pigments from red beets.
How best to be consumed
Golden beets are used like red beets, and are an easy, mild choice.
- Roast whole in foil until tender, then peel, and dress with olive oil, lemon and herbs.
- Slice raw into thin rounds for salads and carpaccio, or grate into slaws.
- Pair with goat's cheese, orange, walnuts and fennel.
- Boil or steam, then toss with butter, or add to grain bowls.
- Cook the leaves too, as beet greens.
Overconsumption could cause…
Golden beets are safe and healthy in food amounts.
- Oxalates, which matter for people prone to kidney stones when eaten in very large amounts. Beets are fairly high in oxalate.
- Low blood pressure in people taking blood-pressure medicines, from large amounts of beet juice.
- Gas or bloating in some people.
- Added sugar and salt in pickled and processed beets.
Wikipedia — Beetroot, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetroot
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