Good idea, Sandy. Next year I'll probably name it the "2023 Roots Thread" to avoid leaving out root crops!

I've only tasted turnips raw, sliced and sprinkled with salt. And that only once.
I've never eaten beets but I've heated up canned beets for my husband. The canned beets smell really good, earthy. Yet I've never tried one canned or fresh. The canned beets look cold and slimy to me.

Turnips and beets aren't so great by themselves, but are very healthy and taste good in healthy smoothies. They add an earthy taste, as you noted, Deborah.

I love beets - they're the one thing that I'll go to the trouble of pressure canning; the glass jars look like they are full of red jewels

I love beets too, but I don't like them raw and I don't can them either. I try to eat different varieties of vegetable, I like to remain healthy. Eating more vegetables is one way.

Beets... Back in school, basically from 1st-grade through highschool, at lunch we would have RED BEETS served to us at least once and usually twice a week. At our school they they had about a half-dozen galvanized metal garbage cans lined up in a row that you would rake your food remnants off into when you were finished with your plate (the scraps were donated to a local hog-farmer). On "beet days" it looked like someone had cut a jugular vein or something in those cans...I don't recall anyone ever eating a beet except for maybe a one-time sampling. These were canned beets and literally tasted like dirt...the big fear was that that bloody juice would get to the other food or (horrors!) get on your roll! For all of those years it seemed that those blood-red garbage cans would have clued *somebody* that worked with the lunch menu to figure out that this was just a waste of resources(money) that the taxpayers were supplying. Nope...they just kept putting them on the plates and the students kept dumping them into the cans. I really believe that the kids that experienced this probably formed some really bad impressions about beets. I know I did, and to this day care nothing at all about them. I've read about "sweet/sugar beets" and that they're good, but there's always the "earthy" comment attached somewhere and that brings me back to the impression of the taste of dirt from fifty years ago.

SoCalGardenNut said: I love beets too, but I don't like them raw and I don't can them either. I try to eat different varieties of vegetable, I like to remain healthy. Eating more vegetables is one way.

I like to remain healthy, also!!! Eating right is so important... Take for instance, a good ham&cheese sandwich needs at least two, preferably three types of cheese on it, along with some greens and maybe tomato. A couple of thick slices of turkey adds a nice ambiance to the sandwich, too, but I guess we're moving into the realm of Club sandwiches then. Put some spicey horseradish mustard and some good mayo on it, sprinkle with black pepper, and maybe a pickled pepper or two, and.....
BOOM!!!!!!....tons and tons of minerals and vitamins. I feel *so much better* after eating one of these!!! So comfortable afterwards it usually calls for a nap!!!

(ETA: Oh, and if you slide the stack of meat and cheese into the microwave for a minute, or broil in the oven for a few minutes, it sure adds more BOOOOMMM!!!!! to it!!!! )

Good luck Ed, some people can eat junk food and live into their 90s, not sure I can.
Talking about beets, today I picked 3 small beets and boiled them, I added a bit of vinegar, pretend these to be pickle beets. I will have them with my escarole lettuce.

Tammy Sue, I really don't anticipate living into my 90's. No such thing as luck, but thanks anyhow.

Lol Ed, we all have our foods that we despise. For me, it's cheese and chocolate, but especially cheese.

Hmm, with all the fish I eat (I've been diagnosed with fishing fever), maybe I'll get enough nutrients to go 'til ninety. Fish is the healthiest meat.

Johannian said: Lol Ed, we all have our foods that we despise. For me, it's cheese and chocolate, but especially cheese.

This is just unnatural - maybe unAmerican - definitely unMidwestern!!

Ed's sandwich for some reason reminded of an old episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" -- the diner had their own version of a BLT, using tomato jam instead of sliced tomatoes, one tiny lettuce leaf, and about 8 slices of bacon...

I never was interested in beets but will try for health benefits. I've been mixing beet powder with juices and soups. Growing these soon.

Technically Sandy, I am unMidwestern, because I'm from CA! But even over there people like their cheese, and especially like their chocolate.

Baker Creek has never disappointed, Cam. I'm sure you'll have some great beets from them.

Edit: Lol I had to edit this post because I accidentally typed "you'll have some great beers from them" Even the Baker Creek family won't pass up a good beer!

Johannian said: Lol Ed, we all have our foods that we despise. For me, it's cheese and chocolate, but especially cheese.

Hmm, with all the fish I eat (I've been diagnosed with fishing fever), maybe I'll get enough nutrients to go 'til ninety. Fish is the healthiest meat.

I love cheese and chocolate, and fish. Have you try fish baked in chocolate and cheese, simply delicious.

No I haven't, but I'm sure I'm missing out. Palates are tricky little devils, mine just happens to be a temperamental one.

I'm just kidding, it's not a dish yet in my household.

with all the crazy dishes in this world, I was quick to believe you, lol.

Beet greens are also tasty - better than spinach IMO.

Mine aren't very good looking, I put them around the edge of my garden to hold the soil back because the fence lizards keep darting in and out catching preys. I discarded them for my compost.

If they taste good, size doesn't matter to me too much. I got some really small radishes last year (picture below) but they still tasted great.