Beetroot

Beetroot is the edible taproot of a beet plant, usually deep red and eaten raw, cooked, or pickled. Its earthy flavor and vivid color come largely from betalain pigments.

Borscht: A soup of Eastern European origin commonly made with beetroot, often served hot or cold. Beetroot supplies the soup’s characteristic color and earthy sweetness.
Taproot: A primary root that grows downward and gives rise to smaller lateral roots. Beetroot is the swollen storage portion of this root system.
Betacyanin: A red-violet subgroup of betalain pigments found in plants such as beetroot. Betacyanins account for most of beetroot’s intense red-violet coloration.
Sea beet: A wild coastal plant, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima, ancestral to cultivated beets. Cultivated beetroot descends from sea beet through long-term domestication.
Dietary nitrate: Nitrate consumed in food or drink, including leafy vegetables and beetroot. Beetroot is a prominent source in studies of nitrate intake and cardiovascular effects.
Pickling: Food preservation by immersing ingredients in acidic brine or fermenting them in salt. Vinegar-pickled beetroot is a common way to preserve and serve the root.
Beta vulgaris: A plant species that includes beetroot, chard, sugar beet, and several other cultivated forms. Beetroot is a cultivated form of this species.
Nitric oxide: A signaling molecule produced in the body that relaxes blood vessels and has other physiological roles. Dietary nitrate from beetroot can be converted into nitric oxide.
Domestication: The process by which humans alter wild organisms through cultivation and selective breeding. Selection for enlarged roots helped produce beetroot as a food crop.
Blood pressure: The pressure exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels. Beetroot nitrate may modestly lower blood pressure by increasing nitric oxide availability.

Linked from 3 pages