[1] Beet hummus, a passionate red purple for Spring, Easter, Mother’s Day, Christmas and Valentine’s Day (photo © California Olive Ranch).

[2] Add some equally bright crudites: colored cauliflower florets, multicolor cherry tomatoes, and crinkle-cut carrots, below (photo © Sid Wainer).

[3] Instead of buying baby carrots which often have little flavor, buy standard carrots and cut them with your crinkle cutter (photo © Ardo).

[4] Baby beets (photo © Heather Gill | Unsplash).

[5] Red, orange, yellow (golden), and striped chioggia beets (photo © Cibo e Vino | Facebook).

[6] White beets (photo © Silk Road Tavern | New York City [now closed]).

[7] Not all beets are round. Round became the shape of preference, but you can find heirloom varieties like these Forono beets (photo © Good Eggs).

For National Snack Day (March 4th), here’s an oh-so-healthy snack.

It’s a spin on hummus from California Olive Ranch, which adapted it from a Bon Appetit recipe.

For a spring and Easter treat, add multi-colored cauliflower florets (photo #2) and other bright veggies like carrots (photo #3) and multi-colored cherry tomatoes.

National Hummus Day is May 13th. National Beet Day? None yet!
 
> The history of hummus.

 
 
RECIPE: BEET HUMMUS

While we’ve made other beet hummus recipes, this one has something special: ricotta, which gives the hummus a special texture and flavor (photo #1).

If you’re not keen on beets, here’s a conventional hummus recipe with ricotta.

You can also try the recipe with soft goat cheese instead of ricotta.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F. Wrap the beet tightly in foil and place it on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.

2. ROAST until the tines of a fork slide easily into the center of the beet, 60–70 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile…

3. BLEND the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, ricotta, garlic, salt,, pepper, and coriander in a food processor until smooth. When the beet is cool enough to handle…

4.RUB beet with a paper towel to remove the skin. It should slip off easily; scrub your hands under running water with soap or cleanser to remove any staining.

5. TRIM the root end and cut the beet into 8 pieces; add them to the food processor. Process until mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes.

6. TASTE and season with more salt, as desired.

7. TRANSFER the hummus to a serving bowl. Garnish with the mint, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
 

THE HISTORY OF BEETS

The ancestor of the modern beet (Beta vulgaris) is the wild beet or sea beet (Beta maritima) which grows on the coasts of Eurasia.

Initially, the root (it looks like a bulb, but is a taproot†—photo #4) was not eaten. The original root was long and thin, like a skinny carrot or parsnip. The round root we enjoy today was bred over millennia.

Beets were domesticated in the ancient Middle East, primarily for their greens (photo #5), and were grown by the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.

The oldest archeological proof that beets were used in ancient times has been found in the Neolithic* site of Aartswoud in the Netherlands, and in the Saqqara pyramid at Thebes, Egypt, which dates to the third millennium B.C.E.

Assyrian texts that say that beetroots were growing in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in the 800 B.C.E.; but as Vegetable Facts points out, we still don’t know if Hanging Gardens ever existed.

But at least the point is made that Mesopotamia knew about beetroot at that time.

Ancient Greeks cultivated beetroot around 300 B.C.E. Still, only the leaves were eaten; although Hippocrates (c. 460 B.C.E. to c. 370 B.C.E.) used leaves of beetroot for binding and dressing wounds.

The ancient Romans were among the first to cultivate beets and eat the roots as well. The tribes that invaded Rome after the fall carried beets throughout northern Europe. There, they were initially used as animal fodder and later for human consumption [source].

Romans, on the other hand, ate the roots, but mainly for medicinal purposes: as a laxative and to cure fever.

In the first century C.E. in Rome, De Re Coquinaria, a cookbook written by the Roman gourmet Apicius (believed to be a fictitious name and a group effort), featured beetroot recipes from broths and to salads with mustard, oil and vinegar.

The Hebrew Talmud, written in 4th and 5th centuries C.E., advises eating beetroot, among other things, for longer life.

In the Middle Ages, beetroot was used as a treatment for a variety of conditions, especially illnesses relating to digestion and the blood.

Bartolomeo Platina, an Italian Renaissance writer and gastronomist, recommended taking beetroot when eating garlic to nullify the effects of garlic-breath [source].

Consumption of the beetroot itself did not occur until the 1800s when its fiber benefits became known. The discovery of the beet’s high sugar content also led to its increased agricultural value.

Modern Beets

The beets we know today, with globular roots, appeared in Europe and the 16th and 17th centuries.

While beets as a crop became more popular in the 16th century, they really became prominent in the 19th century, when it was discovered that beets were a concentrated source of sugar.

In the Victorian era (1837 to 1901), beetroot was used to add color to an otherwise colorless (i.e. beige) diet, as well as a sweet ingredient in desserts.

Industrialization allowed for easier preparation and preservation of vegetables, so beetroot in jars and cans became more available—plain and pickled.

Today, the most common variant of beetroot is round and deep red, but beets can also be orange, purple, golden (orange skin), white, and even red-and-white circular stripes, the chioggia beet, pronounced kee-OH-juh and also known as candy stripe beets and bulls eye beets (photos #5 and #6).

These other colors were developed from mutations.

Golden beets were known from earlier times, but few farmers grew them due to the greater demand for red varieties. One had to search to find them in Europe as in the U.S.

In the 1940s, the U.S.-based Burpee Seed Company developed a variety of golden beets for commercial sale. They’re still hard to find, but farmers’ markets are a good bet.

Or grow your own! Beets are one of the easiest vegetables you can grow. They’re almost never troubled by pests or disease. They don’t need staking, pruning, or fussing. Just sow the seeds and let the plants grow for about 6-8 weeks [source].

What we call simply “beet” is known as beetroot in England.

Now that you know the history of beets, how about…

*The Neolithic was the final of the three progressions of the Stone Age. It began about 12,000 years ago (10,000 B.C.E.) when the first developments of farming appeared in the Near East, and lasted until the Chalcolithic (Copper Age), about 6,500 years ago (4500 B.C.E.).

†A taproot is a large, central, dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Examples include beets, carrots, parsley, parsnips, radishes, turnips, and others, including cannabis.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

March 4th is National Pound Cake Day—one of our favorite cakes.

Our “personal spin” on it is a pound cake hot fudge sundae: a slice of pound cake topped with ice cream, fudge sauce and whipped cream—hold the cherry unless it’s an adult-worthy one from Tillen Farms.

Here’s how to make a pound cake ice cream sundae.

The original recipe was developed in England in the 1700s. Here’s the history of pound cake.

Vanilla or lemon are the classic pound cake flavors, but in the 20th century, creative bakers made flavored versions:

 
Today, we offer you yet another flavor: Sweet Potato Pound Cake (photo #1).

Who says that sweet potato desserts start and end with pie?

This recipe is deliciously moist, with the naturally sweetness of the potatoes, plus coconut. It was developed by Superman Cooks for the North Carolina Sweet Potatoes.

Look at the Superman Cooks website for more tempting, beautifully photographed recipes.
 
 
RECIPE: SWEET POTATO POUND CAKE

Prep time is 10 minutes, cook time is 1 hour 5 minutes, cooling time is 15 minutes.
 
Ingredients For 12 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl.

2. ADD the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add the mashed sweet potatoes and mix well.

3. COMBINE the flour and pumpkin pie spice in a separate large mixing bowl. Gradually add the sweet potato mixture to the flour mixture, while beating.

4. STIR in the coconut. Spoon the batter into a well-greased bundt pan.

5. BAKE for 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and then invert the pan to remove the cake.

6. DUST with the optional powdered sugar.
 
 
MORE POUND CAKE RECIPES

[1] Mmmm, Sweet Potato Pound Cake (photo © Superman Cooks | North Carolina Sweet Potatoes).

[2] Firm, sweet North Carolina Sweet Potatoes (photo © North Carolina Sweet Potatoes).

[3] Shredded coconut. You can get it at Gourmet Food World (photo © Gourmet Food World).

*If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, it’s easy to blend yourself with these ingredients.

†Powdered sugar is a pretty garnish, but it falls onto clothes and furnishings. We’ve learned to live without it. If you want decoration, try this vanilla glaze.

[1] Slow cooker mulled wine. The recipe is below (recipe and photos #1 and #2 © Hello Fresh).

[2] It takes just 90 minutes in a slow cooker.

[3] If you have stemmed glasses, by all means use them (photo © Edward Howell | Unsplash).

March 3rd is National Mulled Wine Day.

Where we live, there’s enough of a chill in the month of March to warrant a cup of warm mulled wine.

“Mulled” means to heat, sweeten and flavor with spices for drinking. Cider and ale are also mulled.
 
 
MULLED WINE HISTORY

Mulled wine is a wine drink typically made from a hearty red wine, honey and spices.

It originated as a way to save wine that had gone bad, and became a traditional winter drink in northern Europe.

 
Preparation

1. POUR the wine into a slow cooker along with the cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, orange juice, honey and pear slices. Stir to combine.

2. TURN ON the heat and let simmer on low heat about 1 hour. Add the lime and orange slices and let the wine infuse for another 30 minutes on the “keep warm” setting.

3. STRAIN the mulled wine, leaving out the cinnamon sticks and star anise.

4. GARNISH with a few slices of pear, orange and lime.
 
 
> MORE ABOUT MULLED WINE

One of our favorite olive oil producers, California Olive Ranch, is having a 30% Off sale on its Roasted Garlic EVOO!.

The sale runs through the month of March, and is an opportunity to pick up some great flavored olive oil, not just for yourself, but for gifting (St. Patrick’s Day? Spring? Mother’s Day?).

To make its Roasted Garlic Oil, California Olive Ranch’s EVOO is infused with roasted garlic.

The result: a robust, flavorful oil that is perfect for adding extra flavor to your cooking.
 
 
WAYS TO USE ROASTED GARLIC OLIVE OIL

We use it:

California Olive Ranch’s Roasted Garlic EVOO is so versatile, you can use it from breakfast through dinner (photo © California Olive Ranch).

Head to CaliforniaOliveRanch.com.

No promo code is required. The sale price of $8 is reflected on the website. The sale price is in effect through 3/31/21.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF OLIVE OIL

> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF OLIVE OIL

[1] Slane is a relative newcomer to Irish whiskey. Irish whiskey was one of the earliest distilled drinks in Europe, arising in the 12th century (photos #1 through #4 © Slane Irish Whiskey| Brown-Forman).

[2] Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Irish Coffee. Here’s the original recipe and history of the drink.

[3] Slane’s unique triple-casked maturation process creates a bolder Irish whiskey.

[4] Enjoy Slane on the rocks…

[5] …or in a cocktail. Here are recipes for this cocktail and 9 more from prominent mixologists (photo © Thirsty Media).

St. Patrick’ Day is coming up. Whether you’re a Scotch fan, prefer other whiskies, or no brown goods** at all, St. Patrick’s Day demands that you pay attention to Irish whiskey.

What are the differences between Irish whiskey, Scotch whisky, and whiskies from America, Canada and the rest of the world?

Check out our Whiskey Glossary.

But a brief summary of the differences between Irish and Scotch whiskies:

 
While some people prefer one to the other, you can easily enjoy both types (we do!).
 
 
WHAT IS IRISH WHISKEY?

Distilled since the 12th century (earlier than Scotch, in the 15th century), Irish whiskey is one of the oldest spirits in the world. Some people think of it as the father of all whiskey.

To be classified as Irish whiskey, it must be:

 
Within these criteria, there are 4 distinct types of whiskey produced in Ireland.
 
 
TYPES OF IRISH WHISKEY

 
Some people have preferences for one style over another; others drink all types. The analogy to Scotch is that some people prefer the style of whisky from a particular production region (Campbeltown, Highlands, Lowlands, Islands, Islay, Speyside); others have broader tastes.
 
 
SLANE IRISH WHISKEY

Slane Irish Whiskey is a blended† Irish whiskey with a unique take on aging. It creates a more robust and complex flavor than a traditional blended Irish whiskey.

Slane is owned by Brown-Forman, one of the largest global spirits business.

Slane’s tripled casked method was developed with the Conyngham family in the village of Slane in County Meath—just north of Dublin, in eastern Ireland.

The technique uses a blend of virgin oak, seasoned oak from the Tennessee whiskey barrels of Jack Daniel’s, and oloroso sherry casks from Jerez, the sherry-making city in southwestern Spain.

The distilled whiskey is divided among the three different types of barrels for aging. At the end of maturation, they are blended [source].

The resulting whiskey is bold yet smooth and nuanced:

 
Slane Irish Whiskey is produced using both pot stills and column stills, and is chill filtered.
 
So for St. Patrick’s Day, for yourself or as a gift, treat yourself to a bottle of Slane’s.

*Sherry is a wine that is fortified with a distilled grape spirit. It is then aged in the solera system, and blended before bottling. Here’s more about it.

**Brown goods is an industry term for brown-colored spirits: bourbon, whiskey, etc. White goods are the clear spirits: gin, rum, tequila, vodka, etc.

†A blended Irish whiskey is a mixture of two or more styles. For example, it could be a blend of whiskeies made from malt and grain, pot still and grain, malt and pot still, malt, pot still, and grain, etc.

‡A.B.V., alcohol by volume, is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of a spirit (or other alcoholic beverage). It is expressed as a percent. The proof of a spirit is two times the A.B.V. For example, 40% A.B.V. equates to 80 proof.