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How Sweet it is for Fall Beets

September 26, 2007
How Sweet it is for Fall Beets
Peña Blanca farming team says a little frost makes low-cal root vegetable better

Farmers' Markets DENISE MILLER For the Journal

Fans of beets are fortunate. This earthy vegetable has a long growing season that stretches from spring through late fall.

A more subtle fact shared by husband-and-wife farming team Dave Schultz and Pat Vester is that fall beets are often sweeter than their mid-season brethren. Light frost tends to activate their sugar content.

In fact, when it comes to sweetness, beets have the highest sugar content of all vegetables, yet they are low in calories.

So how does a hardy vegetable with this rough exterior get transformed into something soft and buttery when cooked?

It's easy when you start with market beets as fresh as Schultz's and Vester's. They have beautiful roots, vibrant color and prolific greens still attached. With that kind of appeal, the pair says they often sell out of beets 30 minutes into the growers' market.

Take their Chiogga beets, for example. This Italian heirloom has beautiful red-and-white concentric circles. Schultz and Vester have been cultivating Chiogga customers for three years, to the point that shoppers ask for them by name.

"Their claim to fame is that they don't bleed and turn everything purple like dark red beets will," says Schlutz. "They also are a little sweeter and milder."

Of course their Peña Blanca Farm still produces traditional red beets like the Early Wonder Tall Top -- great for borscht, homemade vegetable juice or roasting.

When it comes to preparing beets, they are sweetest when roasted whole with the skin, about an hour depending on the size (check at 40 minutes), at 400 Fahrenheit, covered. After removing from the oven, keep covered for 30 minutes, then wrap each beet in a paper towel and rub off the skin. Add a little salt and olive oil.

You can also serve roasted beets in a salad with oranges and red onions, or shred them over salad greens when raw. In salads, beets pair nicely with a blue or feta cheese and nuts, especially walnuts or hazelnuts.

Beets can keep up to three weeks, but you'll need to use the tops within a few days. When you get home from market, take off all but about an inch of the greens and place the beets in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. To the store the greens, wrap them in a moistened paper towel before refrigerating in a plastic bag.

The greens are very similar in taste and texture to Swiss chard (they come from the same plant family) and are great for braising with chard or mustard greens.

Peña Blanca Farm sits halfway between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and Schultz and Vester have vegetables, fruit trees and chickens on three acres. It used to be an organic garlic farm, and all of its produce is pesticide- and chemical-free, the pair say.

"Being certified organic isn't critical for us because as the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission says, certification is more important the further you are from your customers. Since most of our customers buy directly from us at markets or at La Montañita Co-Op, they know what they are getting," says Schultz.

What customers get is a huge selection of top-quality produce ranging from baby bok choy to six kinds of radishes, earning Schultz the nickname, "Radish King."

Schultz and Vester love educating customers about produce, and as they see it, it's one of the best reasons to shop at growers' markets.

"When people go to a supermarket they buy produce, but when they shop at a growers' market they are sold produce," says Schultz.

Consider their Mokum carrots that you will never find in a supermarket. As Schultz explains, they are very sweet and tender, and so crisp that they cannot be harvested mechanically.

After retiring from Los Alamos Lab in 1993, Schultz spent a few years consulting and teaching while farming part-time in northern Santa Fe County. Four years ago they moved to Peña Blanca where they have water rights and can irrigate with both ditches and drip. Last year they began farming full time.

While they share most of the duties down the line, Schultz handles the heavy lifting and Vester manages the bookkeeping.

"It's fun being there with my husband, and the people have been so good to us," Vester says. "I really enjoy getting to know our customers and selling them great food."

"I get a kick out of growing stuff, and I have a naive belief that if I figure it out, I may make a few dollars to add to retirement," says Schultz.

It's no secret that farming is a tricky business in which to turn a profit, but with hard work and a little luck, hopefully Schultz and Vester will be able to "beet" the odds.

FEATURED GROWERS

WHO: Pat Vester and Dave Schultz, Peña Blanca Farm

WHERE TO FIND THEM: Bernalillo Farmers' Market, Corrales Growers' Market (Sundays), San Felipe Farmers' Market

FEATURED CROP: Beets

NUTRITIONAL VALUE: These colorful root vegetables contain contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer. Beets are an excellent source of vitamin B, folate, and a very good source of manganese, potassium, dietary fiber and vitamin C. Their greens are also incredibly rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals as well as carotenoids such as beta-carotene.

SEASON: Spring through late Fall