Beetroot

The beetroot (Beta vulgaris var. vulgaris) is a well-known rooting vegetable species with all-round culinary uses but it is also a treasure for our health. The tradition of beetroot utilisation, based on its beneficial effects, can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It was very popular in the days of the Roman Empire already. In one of the earliest cookbooks, compiled by Apicius, we can find it in recipes of salads, bouillons etc. Thanks to the huge size of the Roman Empire beetroot quickly spread to such European countries as Spain and France and gradually across the whole European continent. Paradoxically enough, the leaves rather than the root parts of young plants were used, and only in the course of time people started to try also the root of the plant after they had revealed its positive effects on human body.