Sugar Beet

Sugar beet is a biennial plant grown primarily for the high sucrose content in its root, from which a large share of the world'so sugar is produced. Fresh sugar beet has a sweet, earthy flavour and is less commonly used in everyday cooking than other vegetables, it is occasionally added to salads, soups, or used for fermentation. The leaves are edible and can be used similarly to spinach. It is primarily an industrial crop: juice is pressed from the root and sugar is crystallised from it. A by-product of processing is molasses, used in food production and distilling. Sugar beet is also a valuable source of dietary fibre and minerals.