Comments on: Smart Fuel: Beets http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/ Serving up health and fitness insights (daily, of course) with a side of irreverence. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:02:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Sasquatch http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29351 Sasquatch Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:20:44 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29351 Hey Mark, Sugar beets are a different variety than the ones you find in the grocery store. They're bred for very high sugar content and they probably taste awful. Regular supermarket beets have a bit more sugar than carrots per unit weight. So they're sweet by vegetable standards I suppose. Sorry for the nitpicking; just trying to keep you on your toes :) Hey Mark,

Sugar beets are a different variety than the ones you find in the grocery store. They’re bred for very high sugar content and they probably taste awful.

Regular supermarket beets have a bit more sugar than carrots per unit weight. So they’re sweet by vegetable standards I suppose. Sorry for the nitpicking; just trying to keep you on your toes :)

]]> By: Mark Sisson http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29238 Mark Sisson Fri, 15 Feb 2008 03:25:46 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29238 Sasquatch, Gotta be careful around you :-) 1) We said "technically" they are not in season. The fact that you can still find them in the ground in winter doesn't mean they are "in season." 2) Duly noted about ancient Rome. We changed it to just plain old Romans. 3) Duly noted about Mediterraen. I'll take your your word on that. 4) Beets low in sugar? 30% of the world's sugar comes from "sugar beets" that were cultivated from the original beta vulgaris. Sasquatch,

Gotta be careful around you :-)

1) We said “technically” they are not in season. The fact that you can still find them in the ground in winter doesn’t mean they are “in season.”

2) Duly noted about ancient Rome. We changed it to just plain old Romans.

3) Duly noted about Mediterraen. I’ll take your your word on that.

4) Beets low in sugar? 30% of the world’s sugar comes from “sugar beets” that were cultivated from the original beta vulgaris.

]]> By: Karen http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29225 Karen Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:59:02 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29225 I often grate raw beets on salads too...and always grate with rubber gloves onto a paper plate or wax paper in the sink. Question for other beet lovers - being a color freak, I was all excited one day to find organic yellow beets at the store - until I tried them. They were very bitter raw, and didn't taste much better cooked. I'm wondering if I just got a bad batch, or if they tned ot be on the bitter side. I often grate raw beets on salads too…and always grate with rubber gloves onto a paper plate or wax paper in the sink.

Question for other beet lovers - being a color freak, I was all excited one day to find organic yellow beets at the store - until I tried them. They were very bitter raw, and didn’t taste much better cooked. I’m wondering if I just got a bad batch, or if they tned ot be on the bitter side.

]]> By: Huckleberry http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29181 Huckleberry Thu, 14 Feb 2008 21:15:51 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29181 By the way, beyond the color categories mentioned, there are also multicolored varieties such as Chioggia, whose insides form concentric red and white circles (I think the ones in the picture are actually Chioggia). Even within each color category (like dark red/purple) there are assorted varieties, including round ones and elongated ones. By the way, beyond the color categories mentioned, there are also multicolored varieties such as Chioggia, whose insides form concentric red and white circles (I think the ones in the picture are actually Chioggia). Even within each color category (like dark red/purple) there are assorted varieties, including round ones and elongated ones.

]]> By: Sasquatch http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29155 Sasquatch Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:03:29 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29155 I have to correct a few inaccuracies in this post. First of all, Huckleberry is right that beets are still in season. It's a root crop that stays in the soil through the winter in many places. Ancient Rome no longer existed in the 16th century. The ancestor of the modern beet (Beta vulgaris maritima) is indigenous to the Mediterranean, not South Africa. And they aren't all that high in sugar. They have about 50% more than a turnip. I have to correct a few inaccuracies in this post.

First of all, Huckleberry is right that beets are still in season. It’s a root crop that stays in the soil through the winter in many places.

Ancient Rome no longer existed in the 16th century.

The ancestor of the modern beet (Beta vulgaris maritima) is indigenous to the Mediterranean, not South Africa.

And they aren’t all that high in sugar. They have about 50% more than a turnip.

]]> By: Huckleberry http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29128 Huckleberry Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:45:13 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beets/#comment-29128 Thanks for highlighting beets! Here in the Northwest, we can still get local beets at the farmers' market, so they are still seasonally available in some places. It also varies by type of beet; some hearty varieties can stay in the ground through much of the winter in many areas. As with most crops, though, there are far fewer varieties of beets grown today than were once grown. Thanks for highlighting beets! Here in the Northwest, we can still get local beets at the farmers’ market, so they are still seasonally available in some places. It also varies by type of beet; some hearty varieties can stay in the ground through much of the winter in many areas. As with most crops, though, there are far fewer varieties of beets grown today than were once grown.

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