Sugar beet

Sugar beet is highly productive because each tuber contains a large amount of sucrose.

It is a selectively bred variety of common beetroot, and is considered a technical crop, but it is used not only for sugar production and animal feed, but also in cooking.

This type of beet appeared thanks to the work of sectioners who began studying the plant back in 1747, at that time a German chemist managed to discover that the vegetable contains a certain amount of sugar. But in practice, this knowledge was only put into practice by Franz Karl Achard, who was a student of the chemist, and was able to successfully continue the research started by his teacher and was even able to create a small plant for processing sugar beets.

The yield of sugar beet varieties is directly related to the conditions in which the beet is grown; it needs sufficient moisture, heat and sun. Therefore, the most suitable conditions for growing beets are in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Although sugar beets were originally intended as a technical crop, they have also found their application in cooking. Finely ground sugar beets can be used to sweeten some dishes (jam, compote, porridge or pastries). Sugar beets are often used to make moonshine or syrup.

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Benefits of Sugar Beet

In folk medicine, sugar beet has long been recognized as beneficial to human health. In addition to sugar, this root vegetable contains phosphorus, magnesium, iodine, iron, as well as vitamins C, PP and group B, etc.

When consuming sugar beet, the body's defenses are increased, digestion and metabolic processes in the body are normalized. Sugar beet improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system, strengthens blood vessels.

This product is recommended for use in cases of atherosclerosis, anemia, leukemia, and high blood pressure. In addition, sugar beet removes toxins and has a rejuvenating effect on the body. Sugar beet has a good effect on the functioning of the intestines and liver, and has a mild diuretic and laxative effect. This vegetable is simply an indispensable product in the diet of people who suffer from high blood pressure.

Sugar beet binds and removes radionuclides from the body well, so drinking juice or eating beet is recommended in case of poisoning of the body with salts of heavy metals, pesticides, etc. In addition, traditional healers recommended taking a decoction of sugar beet varieties, which contains pectin, various acids, and microelements necessary to support the body during illness.

In addition, a special salt is obtained from sugar beets, which helps to cope with such a serious disease as tuberculosis of the lungs. There is also a folk recipe for a medicinal drink from sugar beets, which helps to cope with the disease: 20 liters of concentrated beet broth (from grated unpeeled beets), 3 kg of sugar, 700 g of hop yeast - mix everything in a can, put in a warm place to ferment for 7-8 days, after fermentation has stopped, the drink is ready. It is recommended to drink 3-6 glasses a day for 8 months and the disease will pass, it is also good to drink salted lard, garlic, onions together with the beet drink. In addition to tuberculosis, the beet drink helps to strengthen the liver and heart.

Beetroot helps to cope with diseases of teeth and gums. For treatment, you need to grate sugar beetroot on a fine grater and apply it to the sore tooth (or spread it on the gum), hold it in your mouth for about 30 minutes. After a week of such treatment, inflammation and pain in the oral cavity should pass.

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Harm of sugar beet

There are no products that can be consumed without any measure, and sugar beet is no exception. It is recommended to exclude it from the diet in case of gastritis, osteoporosis and diabetes. In case of metabolic disorders, kidney stones, you should completely refuse to consume sugar beet in any form.

In case of exacerbation of gastrointestinal diseases, urolithiasis, nephrolithiasis, it is necessary to exclude beets, as well as sugar, which is its derivative, from your diet. The same is recommended for people suffering from obesity, diabetes, as beets contain a large amount of sucrose.

Caloric content of sugar beet

A medium-sized sugar beet (about 100 grams) contains 35 calories, and is completely fat-free, so it is an ideal product for low-fat or low-calorie diets. Despite the fact that beets contain a large amount of sugar (approx. 6 grams of sugar), they do not cause health problems. They are often used not only in various vegetable salads, but also as a side dish for meat or fish dishes.

One serving of sugar beet will provide the body with 8 grams of carbohydrates, which is not much at all, since the body needs 225 - 325 grams per day. The body needs carbohydrates to provide us with energy. In addition, beet contains 2 grams of fiber, which helps prevent some malignant tumors.

Sugar beet does not contain a large amount of protein, from one serving you can get only 1g (with a daily norm of 50 - 175 UAH). To increase the amount of protein, you can add seafood, pork, chicken or beef to sugar beet.

Beets contain a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals. One serving will provide 6% of the daily requirement of vitamin C, which helps to boost immunity and strengthen the vascular system. In addition, sugar beets provide 4% of the daily requirement of iron and 2% of calcium.

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Composition of sugar beet

Sugar beet contains about 75% water, the rest (25%) is dry matter, most of which is sucrose. The non-sugar part (approximately 5%) is insoluble substances (pectin, fiber, ash, proteins), the remaining part is soluble non-sugars (fructose, glucose, nitrogenous and nitrogen-free substances). Sugar beet also contains betanin, citric, oxalic and other acids, as well as a number of amino acids, minerals (manganese, phosphorus, calcium, etc.), pigments, folic acid, vitamins (groups B, C, PP), iodine.

Characteristics of sugar beet

Sugar beet is grown in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and some other CIS and European countries, North America, and Asia.

For our country, sugar beet is the main product from which sugar is produced. The root crops contain up to 20% sucrose. By the way, sugar with a yellowish tint is an under-refined product, which is also obtained from sugar beet. By the way, such sugar is healthier than snow-white sugar, produced from sugar cane. Yellow sugar can be freely purchased in stores, it is rich in pectin, organic acids, many minerals, which are very useful for the body.

In the process of processing beets, they also obtain pulp and molasses. Pulp is well suited for animal feed, which after processing is used as fertilizer. Molasses is widely used in the production of alcohol, glycerin, citric acid, etc. Ethanol is also produced from beets, which is added to gasoline and diesel fuel substitutes.

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Sugar beet dishes

You can make a pretty tasty syrup from sugar beets, which can be used for compotes, cookies or jelly.

To prepare the syrup, wash the beets thoroughly, peel and cut into medium pieces. Place in a stainless steel pan, add water at a rate of 10 kg of beets - 1.5 liters of water, which should completely cover the beets. After the beets are cooked, squeeze out the juice and cook further until the consistency resembles thick sour cream. The syrup is brown in color with a fairly pleasant sweet taste, it is well suited for preparing many sweet dishes.

Beetroot syrup contains approximately 70% sugar and can only be stored in glass containers. To prevent the syrup from becoming candied, you can add a little citric acid (1 g of citric acid per 1 kg of syrup).

Sugar beet is a good product for making healthy and tasty candies. In order to please your loved ones with such candies, you need to wash and peel the beet, cut it, put it in a saucepan (preferably cast iron), pour a small amount of water and steam it under the lid until soft in the oven (if the water has completely evaporated, you can add a little water). After the beet is cooked, take it out of the oven and put it on a grill (or sheet) and dry it a little in the oven.

In addition to sweets, sugar beets are used to prepare various salads.

Beetroot salad with horseradish is prepared as follows: wash 1 kg of beetroot, peel and cut into cubes, fry in vegetable oil over high heat, so that less juice evaporates, you can cover the beetroot with a lid. After 10-15 minutes, remove the beetroot from the heat and sprinkle with acetic acid (approx. 1 tablespoon). Take a medium horseradish root and grate it, pour boiling water over it, when it cools down a little, add 3 tablespoons of acetic acid, 1 glass of sour cream, 1 tablespoon of sugar and beetroot. Mix the salad well, put it in a dish and sprinkle with herbs.

Beetroot salad with sausage cheese can be prepared as follows: 2-3 small beets, 100g sausage cheese, 2-3 tomatoes, 2 boiled eggs, 2 tbsp sour cream, 1-2 onions.

Cut the boiled beets into cubes, finely chop the onion and sauté with the beets in butter (to prevent burning, you can add a little vegetable oil). After the onion has softened a little, add finely chopped tomatoes and simmer for a little. Cut the sausage cheese into strips, mix with chopped dill, eggs, sour cream and mix well, then pour in the beet mixture and bake in the oven over medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle the finished dish with herbs. The sausage cheese can be replaced with any hard cheese.

Moonshine from sugar beet

To make moonshine, folk craftsmen use various starch-containing and sugar-containing products. The fastest and easiest way to distill moonshine is with the addition of sugar. But since sugar is not a very cheap product, other products are often used: grain, potatoes, berries, sugar beets.

Moonshine made from sugar beets and pomace is simple, strong and very sharp, and also relatively cheap. To prepare such a "folk" drink, you need to grate the beets, boil them for about 1.5 hours. Pour the liquid formed during cooking into a separate container, and add water to the remaining beets and boil again for 1.5 hours, then repeat the process again. The beet broth drained after three boils is poured into one container, which should be filled more than 2/3. Add yeast to the beet broth (40 g of yeast per 4 liters of liquid) and leave for about two weeks, until the foam stops forming, then distill. If you add sugar, potatoes, etc. to the liquid, the infusion process will increase by 5-7 days.

Storage of sugar beet

Sugar beet root must be stored with sufficient air supply, otherwise it begins to sprout and rot, and this process can begin after 5-7 days of improper storage.

Sugar beets selected for storage should not have any damage, and the tops should be removed. Damage and cuts on the root crop lead to the fact that microbes begin to actively develop on the beet and rotting begins, not only of the damaged root crop, but also of the neighboring ones.

Beets are best stored in a special room (cellar, basement), since it is easy to maintain the optimal temperature for preserving the vegetable there. But if there are no suitable conditions, there are several ways to preserve beets at home. The most optimal temperature for preserving beets is +2 ºС, with fairly high humidity - up to 90%. In warm conditions, beets begin to sprout faster, wither and spoil.

To preserve beets for a long time, you can put them in a plastic bag, but do not tie it (to allow air to get in), put it in a cooler place in the house (near the door).

If you have a glazed balcony, this greatly simplifies the storage process; you can safely store beets there throughout the winter, having first placed them in boxes and covered them with sand and sawdust (the boxes should be placed so that the root crops do not touch each other). In severe frosts, boxes with beets can be wrapped in an old blanket.

Beets can also be stored in the refrigerator, but in such conditions they can be preserved in a normal state for no more than a month. When storing, you need to wrap them in a plastic bag with holes or cling film, you need to check periodically to ensure that condensation does not form.

During the storage period, it is necessary to sort through the beets in order to promptly remove root vegetables that have begun to spoil or rot.

Sugar beet is the most important sugar crop in our climate zone. Moreover, this vegetable is used not only for sugar production, but also in cooking, animal husbandry, in the manufacture of medicines, etc.

In addition, beets are a very healthy and tasty vegetable, rich in vitamins, minerals and helping to cope with a number of diseases.