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The beet is a root vegetable, originally from North Africa, that is closely related to swiss chard. The most common variety is a deep reddish-purple color, but beets can also be white, golden, and even rainbow colored. While they are often served cooked (either boiled, roasted, steamed, or microwaved), they are also delicious when grated raw into salads and sandwiches. (Read more on World's Healthiest Foods.)

Beetroot, Red Beet, Table Beet, or simply the Beet is quite possibly the most commonly found beet variety in the United States.  A delicious treat, beets taste even sweeter when they are cooked, most commonly roasted.  Eaten warm or cold, the beet is an excellent accompaniment to salads and pairs well with leafy greens, nuts and dried fruit. In addition to its use as a food, beets made a natural colorant and are added to many other foods including tomato paste and jams.

Golden Beets are so named because of their gold hue.  Similar in flavor to the beetroot, they also have a narrow shelf life and are best kept in the fridge and eaten within a week of receving.  All beets can be preserved via pickling, which  changes their flavor profile while contributing to the length of the root's shelf-life.

Chioggia Beets are a sweet-tasting Italian heirloom with distinct red- and white-striped flesh.  Betacyanin, the pigment that gives beets their color, is a powerful antioxidant.

Forono Beets have an elongated cylindrical shape and are as valued for their flavor as for their aesthetic.  The dependable shape makes for uniform slices and so forono beets are valued for their decorative properties. 

Beets are a good source of vitamin C, fiber, and potassium and an excellent source of manganese and folate. They are also one of the few sources of betalains, which are phytochemicals with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. (Read more about beets and betalains on World's Healthiest Foods and see more nutrition facts at

To store beets, place them in a plastic bag, and keep them refrigerated. Beet greens are edible. If the beets arrived with the greens still attached, cut the leaves from the root, and store them separately. The greens will keep for a few days in a plastic bag put in the crisper section of the refrigerator.