Beetroot brief description. Characteristics of beets

Other plant names:

beets

Brief description of beetroot:

Beetroot (table) is a biennial root plant with wide succulent leaves, from the gonopodiaceae family.

Beetroot is cultivated over large areas everywhere.

The roots of the plant are used for medicinal purposes and in cooking.

Chemical composition of common beet:

Beet roots contain proteins, fiber, sugars, fats, dyes, mineral salts (magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, iodine), ascorbic acid, vitamins B1, B2, P, PP, folic acid, betaine (an alkaloid-like substance).

The leaves of the plant contain ascorbic acid, carotene, dyes, and betaine.

All these active ingredients form the basis of the chemical composition of common beets (table beets).

Use of beets in cooking:

All parts of beets are used for animal feed, and root crops of sugar varieties are a source of sugar.

Table varieties of beets are widely used in everyday nutrition due to the fact that they remain fresh for a long time, are available in all regions and tolerate transportation well.

Prepared from beets various dishes, they consume it in dried, salted, pickled and canned form.

Use of beetroot in medicine, treatment with beets:

Beetroot dishes have medicinal and dietary properties and are successfully used in the treatment of many diseases.

Fiber and organic acids stimulate gastric secretion and intestinal motility, which is used for spastic colitis. The combination of a large amount of vitamins with iron has a stimulating effect on hematopoiesis. Beets are indicated for people suffering from thyrotoxicosis, atherosclerosis with accompanying cardiovascular disorders due to its low calorie content, the presence of a large amount of vitamins and mineral salts (especially potassium, which has an antiarrhythmic effect, magnesium, which has a hypotensive effect, and iodine, which has a positive effect on cholesterol-lipid metabolism ).

Beetroot juice is widely used as a therapeutic and prophylactic agent in geriatric practice.

Or

Beta vulgaris

Family - Amaranthaceae

The popular name is chard, beet.

The parts used are beet roots and leaves.

Botanical description

Beet or Beetroot is a biennial garden herbaceous plant. In the first year, it develops a rosette of large long-petioled leaves and a fleshy root (root vegetable) with juicy burgundy-red pulp of various shapes and sizes. In the second year, tall, branched, leafy stems with leaves and flowers develop.

The flowers are inconspicuous, green or whitish, five-membered, with a simple perianth, arranged in bunches of 2-5. The fruits are single-seeded nuts; when ripe, they grow together in groups of 2-6 and with the remaining perianths and bracts, forming infructescences - glomeruli. Blooms in June - August. The fruits ripen in August - September.

Numerous varieties of beets fall into three groups according to the nature of the use of root crops: sugar, table and fodder. In everyday life, they all have a common name - beets.

Collection and preparation

Root vegetables and beet leaves are used for medicinal purposes. Beet leaves are harvested in June - August, root crops - in September - October.

Active ingredients

Sugars, protein, fat, fiber, organic acids (malic, citric, etc.), mineral salts (magnesium, calcium, potassium, iron, iodine, etc.), dyes, vitamins C, B1, B2, P, PP and folic acid.

Healing effect and application

Buryak or Beetroot has diuretic, mild laxative, antiscorbutic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.

The healing properties of beets have been known since ancient times; initially, the root was used only as medicine. In folk medicine, beets are used to prevent cancer, to prevent and treat anemia, and to prevent rickets in children. For the treatment of infectious diseases, hypertension, scurvy, anemia, liver diseases, anemia and atherosclerosis, fever, diseases of the digestive tract, lymphatic vessels, for the treatment of putrefactive and malignant ulcers of the rectum and bladder.

Crushed beet leaves are used externally as an anti-inflammatory agent; they are applied to inflamed parts of the body. Sometimes, to mitigate inflammatory phenomena, fresh root vegetable gruel is periodically (as it dries) applied to ulcers and tumors.

Raw beet juice has a hypotensive effect and is taken as a means of improving metabolism and strengthening the body. Beetroot juice mixed in half with bee honey is taken at And colds. Beetroot juice is put into the nose for ulcers in the nose and paralysis of the facial nerve, put into the ear, it soothes the pain. Use this juice to wash your hair for dandruff and lice. The juice is applied to warts. The juice should not be drunk immediately after preparation - it must be left for at least 2 hours.

Beetroot dishes have medicinal and dietary properties and have a positive effect on metabolism and hematopoiesis.

Pickled boiled beets have long been considered a good remedy for scurvy and anemia. Boiled beets are used for prolonged constipation. Pieces of raw root vegetables are kept in the mouth to relieve toothache.

Beetroot decoction is used externally for a runny nose with thick discharge. For persistent, long-term constipation, beetroot decoction enemas are used. For persistent habitual constipation, do enemas from beet broth.

Cosmetologists recommend taking it regularly to maintain the freshness and beauty of your face. In addition, cosmetics recommend using masks made from beet juice to acquire natural freshness and revitalize facial skin.

For treatment, you need to use beets of a densely saturated color, almost dark brown.

Recipe

1. Take 1-2 tablespoons daily 3-4 times a day before meals for 2-3 months, mixed in equal quantities, beet, carrot and radish juices. (Anemia).
2. Raw beets must be kept in running water for 2-4 hours. Then grate on a fine grater along with the peel. Squeeze. Apply the cake to the chest or lower abdomen and leave overnight as a compress. In the morning, remove the mass and put it in a cool place (can be used 2 times). Wash the chest and abdominal skin. The next night, repeat the procedure. 3rd night – break, 4-5 – treatment, 6th night – break. The course of treatment is 20 treatment nights. A month and a half is a break. Repeat treatment. (Mastopathy, fibroitis).
3. Mix red beet juice in half with honey and drink 1 tablespoon 7 times a day. (Hypertension).
4. On an empty stomach in the morning, take juice with honey - 0.5 cups of juice with 1 teaspoon of honey. (Tuberculosis of the lymph nodes).
5. Drink raw beet juice by diluting 1/3 cup of juice in half with water. Drink 2 times a day after meals. ( ).
6. Mix the juice in half with honey. Take 1/3 cup 2-3 times a day. Relieves hot flashes and irritability. (Climax).
7. Place 2-3 drops of beetroot juice into your ear. Wrap the grated beets in gauze and stick it in your ear, but don’t let it leak. (Trigeminal neuralgia).
8. Eat 100-150g of boiled beets on an empty stomach. (Constipation).
9. Take 1 tablespoon 4-5 times a day of a mixture of beet juice and honey in equal parts. (Hypertension).
10. Mix 2.5 teaspoons of raw beet juice and 1 teaspoon of honey and drop 5 drops into each nostril 4-5 times a day. For young children, it is better to instill boiled beet juice without honey. (Runny nose).

Contraindications

You should not eat half-raw or boiled beets if you have gastritis with high acidity, as well as diabetes, diarrhea, or alkaline urine with the formation of kidney stones.

Excerpt from the book:
A wise tale about beets. Recipes using beets

Varieties and values ​​of beets: beets contain the protein betaine -
a remedy against tumors, and beet juice with honey for headaches.
Boiled beets will improve the health of the heart, blood vessels, liver and intestines.

THREE SISTERS

In one basement, where vegetables were stored, three beet sisters lived in three cozy compartments: fodder beets, table beets and sugar beets. One day people loaded all the sugar beets into baskets and took them away. There was only one beet left, accidentally forgotten in the corner. She rolled out to her sisters and said to them:

You see, they have already taken me away: people need sugar beets most of all; sweet sugar is made from it.

Don’t think, sugar, that you are the only one needed. “You can’t make borscht or vinaigrette without me,” the beetroot responded.

People need me no less than you,” the fodder beet said offendedly. - Although I am not as sugary as sugar, and not as tender as table, I am much heavier than you. In winter, the cows will not give milk to people without me.

The sisters almost quarreled, but at that moment the Fertility Fairy looked into the basement. In winter, she sometimes looks into basements and storage rooms to admire the work of her hands. The fairy heard the argument of the three sisters and suggested to them:

Dear sisters, with my magic wand I will turn you into girls. Let each one prove her importance to people through her work.

The Fertility Fairy touched the three sisters with her magic wand, and at that very moment they turned into girls. The oldest, large and angular, wore simple peasant clothes. On the middle one - round and ruddy - there is a crimson sundress and a green caftan. And the fairy dressed the youngest - the most slender, with a face as white as sugar - in a crimson silk skirt and a white sheepskin coat.

Three sisters went along the road and ended up in a rich house. The older sister was taken to work in the barnyard, the middle sister was hired as a cook, and the younger sister was hired to look after the children.

The older sister began to feed the cows fodder beets. The cows eagerly devoured a couple of large root vegetables a day and an armful of straw for a snack, and the milk flowed like a river. The chickens also did not refuse the beetroot treat, pushing each other, they pecked out their juicy pulp. In winter, the owner's geese, without fresh greens, often suffered from indigestion, but as soon as chopped beets were added to their food, they immediately recovered.

The owner said to the rather new cowgirl:

You, girl, have magical hands. In previous winters we didn’t have enough milk, but now we have plenty of everything: milk, cream, and eggs.

It’s not me who does these miracles, but my assistant - fodder beets,” the girl answered and showed the owner a huge, rough beet.

The family was also happy about the new cook. They used to eat simply: lean cabbage soup, porridge and turnips, but the new cook began feeding everyone fragrant borscht and delicious vinaigrettes.

The cook began to not only treat, but also treat with beets. The owner, an obese woman, often had headaches. One day, when she could not move because of the pain, the cook brought her a cup of beet juice with honey, and the pain little by little went away.

What kind of wonderful medicine did you give me? - the hostess asked the girl.

This is beetroot juice. If you are obese, you should eat boiled beets as often as possible. It will improve your heart, blood vessels, liver and intestines,” the girl explained.

Maybe you can treat my sister with beets too? - asked the hostess. - A tumor grew on her chest. The healer spoke - it didn’t help, the money soared - it didn’t work. The doctor said that the tumor needs to be cut off, but she is afraid. My sister is feisty, I don’t know who she’s born into, but I still feel sorry for her.

I can't promise, but I'll try. “My beets contain betaine protein - a sure remedy against tumors,” the girl said and went to the hostess’s sister.

She began to drink beet juice for the patient and apply raw beet pulp to the tumor to soften it. She told her to boil beets every day, with the skins and tails on. Cut off the third part of the inch as unhealthful, and eat the rest right away while it’s warm.

Will you finally leave me alone with your nasty beets? - the patient whined.

If you want to get better, you must listen to me. You shouldn’t scold the healing beet, but you need to thank it every day so that its treatment will help,” the cook calmly explained.

It was difficult for the sick woman to squeeze out gratitude, and she really didn’t want to die. A few months later, when things began to improve, she began to smile welcomingly for the first time in many years. It turned out that beets not only cure diseases, but also correct character.

The peasants gathered for a village gathering and decided to plant beets in their gardens. What amazed the peasants most was that beets are not afraid of time. By spring, carrots and turnips became flabby, cabbage was no longer good for anything, only the beets were fresh.

The youngest beet sister also tried. The children doted on her. The hostess noticed that the new nanny was rewarding the children with some white pieces for obedience, and asked:

What do you treat your children to?

I spoil you with sugar,” the girl answered. - You give honey to children only on holidays and when they are sick, but the kids want sweets.

Where do you get your sugar from? - the hostess was amazed. - Sugar loaves are expensive, they say they are made overseas from sugar cane. We are not poor people, but we cannot afford such luxury.

I don’t have money, and I haven’t been overseas, but I made sugar myself from sugar beets. Try it, it’s no worse than the overseas one,” the girl suggested, handing the hostess a piece of sugar.

The hostess tried it and told her husband about everything. Then the peasant went to a village meeting and suggested that the peasants allocate several fields for sugar beets, and then build a sugar factory in order to have their own sugar. The peasants were doubtful at first, but when they drank tea with sugar from sugar beets, they immediately gave their consent.

The sisters never decided which of them was more important to people, because people liked all of them, and they all still serve them.

Questions and tasks for the fairy tale about beets:

What beet dishes do you prepare in your family?

Which of the three sisters did you like best, and why?

What did you learn about the three types of beets from this fairy tale?

Who in your family needs beets most?

Draw beet sisters and tell us how they performed miracles with their beets.

Children are divided into three groups. One group writes a hymn of praise for table beets, another for fodder beets, and a third for sugar beets.

One of the children is the beet fairy. Children stand in a circle and take turns telling the fairy something good about beets. In response, she must “give” everyone some kind of beetroot gift. (Vitamin, healing property, beetroot dish). Then the children draw their beetroot gifts.

Tell a story about how the beet sisters invited you to a beet feast.

Beet and apple salad with cheese

Beetroot - 1 pc.
- apples - 2 pcs.
- cheese -100 gr.
- sour cream - 200 gr.
- greens, sugar or honey to taste.

Boil the beets. Peel the apples. Grate the beets, apples and cheese on a coarse grater, pour in sour cream, and stir. Sprinkle with parsley. Add granulated sugar or honey to taste.

Beetroot cookies

Beetroot - 3 pcs.
- flour - 100 gr.
- sour cream (cream) - 300 gr.
- sugar or honey - 3 tbsp. lie
- vanillin - 0.5 tsp.
- cinnamon - 0.5 tsp.
- soda - 0.5 tsp.

Boil the beets, peel and grate. Mix with sour cream, cinnamon, vanilla, flour, soda and sugar. Knead the dough and put it in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Grease a baking sheet with butter and use a dessert spoon to place the dough onto it in equal portions. The cookies are baked in the oven for 20 minutes.

Beta vulgaris
Taxon: family Amaranthaceae ( Amaranthaceae)
Other names: sugar beet, fodder beet, chard, beetroot, beetroot
English: Sugar Beet, Swiss Chard

Description

Biennial garden plant. Previously, the species belonged to the goosefoot family. In the first year, beets develop a standing rosette of large petiolate elongated elliptical leaves and a fleshy root (root crop) with juicy burgundy-red pulp. In the second year, a branched stem with leaves and flowers develops from the root crop. The flowers are inconspicuous - green or whitish, five-membered, with a simple perianth, arranged in bunches of 2-5. The fruits are single-seeded nuts. It blooms in June-August, beet roots ripen in August-September.
There are also wild species: creeping beet ( Beta procumbens), large root beet ( Beta macrorhiza), beetroot ( Beta lomatogona), intermediate beet ( Beta intermedia), three-column beet ( Beta trigyna), sea beet ( Beta maritima), spreading beet ( Beta patula) and etc.
The wild form has a thin root and is an annual plant; the cultivated form has a fleshy, thick root and is a biennial plant.

Beet subspecies:
Sugar beet It has an elongated root vegetable with white pulp, rich in sugar (up to 23%).
Fodder beet has a large (up to 10-12 kg) root crop of various shapes, is used as succulent feed, the leaves are also ensiled.
Beetroot forms a root crop weighing 0.4-0.9 kg. Thanks to their rich taste qualities beets are widely used in the cuisines of many peoples of the world. The leaves are used to make salads, the rhizomes are used for salads, soups, snacks, drinks (including kvass) and even desserts.
Chard- a herbaceous plant; unlike beets, the leaves and stems are edible, not the rhizome.

Spreading

Beetroot was known in cultivation for many centuries BC, and is currently cultivated everywhere as a valuable fodder, food and sugar crop.

Blank

Root vegetables and beet leaves are used for medicinal purposes.

Chemical composition of beets

Beet roots contain proteins, fiber, sugars (8-20%), fats, vitamins B1, B2, C, P, PP, folic acid, provitamin A - carotene, alkaloid-like substance betaine, organic acids (citric, malic), many trace elements (iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, iodine, etc.), coloring matter.
Additional information about the chemical composition, nutritional and energy value and.

Pharmacological properties of beets

Fiber and organic acids contained in beets stimulate gastric secretion and intestinal motility, which helps with spastic colitis. The combination of a large number of various vitamins with iron stimulates hematopoietic processes, so consuming beets is useful for anemia, and accompanying cardiovascular disorders, and aging.
Beetroot is actively used in diets in the treatment of hypertension, scurvy, diabetes mellitus, kidney stone disease. Fresh juice is especially effective for use.

The use of beets in medicine

The healing properties of beets have been known since ancient times; initially, the root was used only as a medicine. The rich content of natural antioxidants allows the use of beets for the prevention of cancer, B vitamins and iron - for the prevention and treatment of anemia, zinc and phosphorus - for the prevention of rickets in children. Natural antiseptics contained in the rhizome can suppress and even treat some infectious diseases, prevent the development of gastric and intestinal pathogenic microflora, cleanse the oral cavity, and improve the condition of the skin microflora.
In folk medicine, beet juice is used as a sedative and for liver diseases. Beetroot is recommended for use against scurvy; the leaves of the plant are also used for the same purpose.
Salads made from boiled beets are recommended for spastic constipation, especially in old age, and with liver diseases.

Medicinal preparations of beets

Boiled beets help, you should eat 100-150 g on an empty stomach.
For hypertension, a mixture of beet juice and honey in equal parts is recommended. Use 1 tbsp. l. 4-5 times a day.
When treating a runny nose, a mixture of 2.5 tsp gives good results. raw beet juice and 1 tsp. honey The resulting mixture is instilled into each nostril 4-5 times a day, 5 drops. For young children, it is better to instill boiled beet juice without honey.
It is recommended to put cotton wool soaked in beetroot juice in your ears, and to place a piece of raw beetroot on the sore tooth.
Beet leaves, if boiled, help with burns, and in the form of an ointment with honey they treat lichens.
A fresh cut of rhizome or crushed beet leaves are used to heal wounds.

Photographs and illustrations