Label
All
0
Clear all filters

Sugar Beet

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

The second most important source of sugar in the world, sugar beets, are certain cultivars of the plant now classified as Beta vulgaris, Crassa group. This group also contains the far more numerous cultivars of beetroot, the familiar crimson vegetable.

The root of the plant was originally small and disagreeable in flavour, but with a noticeably sweet taste. As early as 1590 the French botanist Olivier de Serres managed to extract a sugar syrup from it. In those days cane sugar was still very expensive, so his discovery might have been exploited, but nothing came of it at the time.

Become a Premium Member to access this page

  • Unlimited, ad-free access to hundreds of the world’s best cookbooks

  • Over 150,000 recipes with thousands more added every month

  • Recommended by leading chefs and food writers

  • Powerful search filters to match your tastes

  • Create collections and add reviews or private notes to any recipe

  • Swipe to browse each cookbook from cover-to-cover

  • Manage your subscription via the My Membership page

Download on the App Store
Pre-register on Google Play
Best value

Part of

The licensor does not allow printing of this title