Beets are not only for Rosh Hashana!
Beets have a very undeserved reputation as a not very exciting vegetable. They are unlike, for example, cucumbers and tomatoes that are a must in any chopped Israeli salad, or peppers that can be munched fresh, crunchy and juicy. The beet is a vegetable of soups, of weekend salads, sometimes also for healthy juices (do not panic if later you have red pee and poop, it is because of the beets). Typically beets come to mind a little before Rosh Hashanabecause they are to be placed on the table with the other traditional salads, and that's it. And it's a shame, because beets are not only nutritious and especially healthy (worthy of being with the other foods on the "super-food" shelf), but can also provide for very tasty dishes.
Organic Beets, which belong to the Betoideae subfamily in the Amaranthaceae family, are not only the red beet that is in your box of organic vegetables, but also for sugar beets, which are used to produce about 40% of the all the white sugar in the world. The first to take advantage of this fact was the French Emperor and General Napoleon, who did not agree that the British would control the sugar business in the entire civilized world, and therefore established a beet sugar refinery in Poland.
Common beets grow wild in European regions. They prefer a cool temperature of up to 23 degrees. Therefore they can be kept in the refrigerator for a relatively long time.Some say up to 3 months! As long as the relative humidity to which it is exposed is not less than 10% or else it will shrink and shrivel), and also in the Middle East and in part of Africa – and it prefers growing near the ocean (it manages fine with saline soil and water) and neglected and abandoned habitats where no one is there to interfere with its growth.
Beets, like other organic vegetables, may seem modest ,but they are actually an outstanding health bomb. Although there are vegetables with higher iron content than that found in organic beets, the beets contain iron that is easy to absorb. This is very important because a lot of the iron we eatpasses through without being used by the body. This is an examplethat sometimes quality is preferable to quantity. Beets also contain zinc, copper, iron, calcium, potassium, and anti-oxidants. They also contain betalain,which give it its deep and rich color (and which is barely removed by the washing machine, as anyone who ever sneezed into a bowl of borschtknows). Beets are also considered a good source of vitamin B, and as such they have a good effect on the liver and entire detoxification system. In addition, they have plenty of vitamin C and vitamin A, which together constitute a good addition to the normal functioning of the immune system.
In ancient times, until about 300 years ago, the main use of beets was for medical purposes (that was when people had not yet discovered tissues in the drugstore). They were used to cure jaundice, to relieve nasal congestion and to help heal internal injuries. The Romans not only used them for medical purposes, but also praised their culinary qualities. So much so that they declared them to be better than cabbage!
Although sugar can be distilled from beets, it is not a food that is considered highin glucose because the amount of carbohydrates in it is low, along with a high amount of fiber. This combination gives it a low place on the glycemic index. In other words, it does not overload the body's metabolic system in order to break down its sugars, allowing it to absorb them well.
How do you combine beets in the kitchen? With great pleasure. Not only is the root itself good combined in salads (uncooked, steamed or baked), it is also great for making hot or cold soups, and they blend well with a green apples in juice. The leaves that are connected to the beets you receive should not be thrown away. It is best to separate them from the root, dry and store them in the refrigerator, and when the time comes combine them in a salad, blended into a juice, or added to red lentils Dal.
To health!
Yours,
Maggie and the garden team
Forecast for this week:
Organic vegetable baskets:
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Spinach
Rocket
Parsley
Pepper
Avocado
Potatoes
Beet
Large organic vegetable baskets:
Celery
Sweet potato
Kohlrabi
Organic fruit baskets:
Oranges
Clementine
Red grapefruit
Bananas
Large Organic fruit baskets:
Pears
Sweetie
