Fodder and sugar beets may look similar, but they taste completely different types of vegetables. Therefore, it is important to know the differences between these root crops from each other, so as not to accidentally use fodder beets in cooking.
Types of beets
There are four main types of beets:
- stern;
- sugar;
- dining room;
- sheet.
All these beets have a single predecessor - wild beets, from which all other types of vegetables were subsequently derived.
Leaf and table beets are mainly used in the culinary business.
Moreover, as the name implies, the leaves of the beet are mainly taken from the beet. Root crops can be used as animal feed.
Table beets, on the other hand, are distinguished by their pleasant taste, so they are often added to various dishes. In addition, this type has found application in cosmetology due to its good moisturizing and nourishing properties.
The purpose of fodder and sugar beets can also be guessed by the name.
Fodder beets are fed to pets. It is excellent for replenishing the lack of vitamins and minerals in dairy animals, improves milk yield and increases the value of milk.
Beetroot is low in sugar. From it, breeders managed to bring out another type of vegetable with a high sugar content - sugar beet.
Sugar beet is by and large an industrial crop from which sugar is produced. Waste products are usually not disposed of. They can also be used as animal feed or soil fertilizer.
Even despite the predominant use of sugar beets in production, many people eat them. When properly processed, sugar beets make delicious and healthy dishes.
External differences between fodder and sugar beets
If you intend to cook a dish from sugar beets, then the first thing you need to do is buy it. There can be a catch here. Not all sellers in the market are honest, some sell fodder beets under the guise of sugar beets.
These two types of beets are different in their proportions. A fodder vegetable can be of various shapes, from round to fairly elongated. Sugar beet looks like an elongated cone.
The difference in color of vegetables is more important. Sugar beets are always uniformly white or cream-white. The root crop does not have transitional colors or any bright shades. This is due to the fact that these beets grow completely submerged in the ground.
The root crop of fodder beets rises strongly above the ground and is constantly exposed to sunlight. Because of this, the upper part of the root crop will always have one shade or another, usually paler than the underground part. The primary color can be red, orange or yellow in varying degrees of brightness. Between the aboveground and underground parts, there is most often a smooth gradient of color transition, which is not the case with sugar beets.
Composition of sugar and fodder beets
Vegetables are very similar in composition. The main and most significant difference lies in the content of a simple carbohydrate, sucrose.
In sugar beets, the amount of sugar can reach 20%, while fodder beets contain no more than 1.5-3% of carbohydrates.
In addition, sugar beets are richer in vitamins. It contains vitamins C, E, PP, A, group B. Fodder beets have a smaller variety of vitamins. It includes vitamins E and group B. Sugar beets are also richer in micro and macro elements.
The total value of sugar beet is higher than that of the feed. However, fodder beets have a good milk-driving effect and improve the quality of milk yield.
Sugar beet in dishes
Unlike fodder beets, sugar beets are often used to prepare various sweets and special culinary additives. It can also be added to borscht or made with it in salads.
The calorie content of sugar beet roots can vary somewhat depending on their sugar content. On average, the nutritional value of a vegetable is 39-42 kcal per 100 grams of product.
Culinary recipes
Sugar beet can be used to make sugar syrup, which is used to decorate desserts and give them a special flavor.
Ingredients:
- sugar beets - 10 kg;
- water - 1.5 l;
- citric acid - as needed.
Step-by-step cooking scheme:
- Wash the beets thoroughly so that there is no debris or dirt on them. It can also be cleaned, but some do not.
- Take a stainless steel pot. Pour water into it and put the beets. The beets should be completely submerged in the water.
- Cook over high heat until boiling. Then reduce the heat and cook over medium heat.
- Cook the beets until fully cooked. This can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the size of the beets. You can check its readiness with a knife, the beets should become soft.
- After the beets are completely cooked, you need to squeeze them well into the pan.
- Then boil the resulting juice until it thickens. The consistency should be similar to sour cream.
- You can store the resulting syrup in glass jars. To prevent the product from becoming sugar quickly, you can use 1 gram of citric acid per 1 kg of syrup.
Another sugar beet recipe can be used to make a baked vegetable sweetness.
What is necessary:
- medium-sized sugar beets - 2-3 pieces.
- foil - as needed, depending on the size of the beets.
This recipe is very simple and doesn't require any major preparations. Just step by step you need to do the following:
- Wash the beets thoroughly and peel them.
- Without cutting the vegetables, wrap each one in 2-3 layers of foil.
- Preheat the oven to 180-220 degrees and place the wrapped beets in the already preheated oven.
- Bake the vegetable for 1, 5-2 hours.
- After baking, remove the crust from the beets.
- The dish is ready.
