Chioggia Beetroot - Beta vulgaris

Of Italian origin, the 'Chioggia' beetroot took its name from a charming fishing port at the southernmost tip of the Venetian lagoon, where it seems to have been initially cultivated. Round and red-skinned, it becomes very beautiful once cut. Its flesh displays concentric white and pink rings that will make a sensation when eaten raw in salads. Its stripes hold up very well with all cooking methods.

This variety is very early and can be harvested 50 days after the first sowing. The uniformly green leaves are delicious as mesclun or spinach. Concentrate on the young shoots when thinning out the leaves, as they will be all the more tender.

This beetroot yields generally between 1.5 and 4 kg per m².

Beetroots are biennial root vegetables. The first year is devoted to the accumulation of nutrients in the root. In the second year, the plant draws from this reserve to produce flowering and seed production. The edible root is harvested in the first year, but if you want it to go to seed, you must reserve some plants and wait until the following year. Sometimes called red carrot or red root, beetroot varieties differ in their colour: there are red, white, yellow, orange, or pink varieties, as well as their shapes, such as cylindrical, spherical, or oval, and their carbohydrate content.

They can be classified into three main categories:

• vegetable beetroots are usually planted in gardens,
• sugar beetroots are grown in open fields to extract sugar,
• and finally, fodder beetroots intended for livestock but also delicious in human diets.

Beetroot is not only a carbohydrate-rich food, but it is also known for its high content of vitamins and minerals, especially potassium.

Storage: once the beetroots are harvested, they should dry out entirely on the ground for a full day. To store them throughout the winter, keeping them in a cool and dark place such as a cellar or pantry is advisable. You can bury them under a layer of dry sand to optimise storage and preserve their taste qualities.

Gardening tip: beetroots should be planted in full sun and cool soil. To maintain these two conditions, consider mulching around the plants.