Lord Nelson, Napoleon, and the Silesian Beet
By Chelsie Vandaveer
November 13, 2001
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Suggested Reading—>Click here.
Killer Picks: Perfected Detroit Beet, Forono Beet, Ruby Queen Beet—>Click here.
Scarlet Supreme Hybrid Beet, Chioggia Guardsmark Beet—>Click here.
From the Crusades (1100) until 1800, Europe had a problem. The Crusaders returned with a taste for the sweet spice (sugar). It was controlled first by the Arabs through the Middle East and later by the Spanish, Portuguese, and English importing it from the New World. Sugar was an expensive commodity.
From Grecian times, the beet was used for food, the beet leaves for humans and the roots and low quality leaves for animal fodder. In 1747, the German chemist, Andreas Marggraf, extracted a small quantity of sugar from fodder beets. Marggraf published his work, but never went further. The extraction was laborious and the sugar content of the beets low.
Marggraf's student, Franz Carl Achard, was a little more practical. If you want more sugar from beets, create sweeter beets. Working from fodder beets, Achard bred the white Silesian beet, the progenitor of modern sugar beets.
Achard began promoting his Silesian beet; all he needed was the capital. The King of Prussia came through with the money and the first sugar beet factory was built. Sugar beets made sense; the farmers already knew how to grow beets, factories would create jobs, and the country would have a
new export.
More backing was needed to create the sugar beet industry. In 1806, Lord Nelson blockaded sugar importation to Europe. Nelson thought the blockade would put an end to Napoleon I, the sugar-starved populace would rise against him. Nelson's blockade backfired, not just on the English, but also on the Spanish and Portuguese. Napoleon was so angry he decided that all sugar in Europe would be beet sugar. He gave the industry the backing it needed.
But it was not that easy. Sugar beets were harder to grow and rotted easily during shipment. Sugar factories were not efficient. Besides, special interest groups worked to keep the sugar beet a curiosity plant, "Who needs a beet when we can sell you so much cane sugar?"
It took another 50 years, but the sugar beet industry held on in France. Finally, when the farming and factory problems were worked out, thousands of farmers got a new marketable crop. Sugar became an affordable product.
The Holt Studios Photograph Library has an excellent series on sugar beet farming. To view the photograph series, click on the link and enter sugar beet farming in the search box top right:
http://www.holt-studios.co.uk/index.php
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading:
Something about that cane sugar Plants that Changed History - February 17, 2004
Could a natural horror benefit sugar beet growers? Renfield's Garden - November 14, 2001
What twelve plants supply most of the food our world consumes? Plants that Changed Hist - 8/21/01
How did the Spanish break Arab control of the sweet spice? Plants that Changed History - 11/06/01
How did sugar beets help a woman win two Nobel Prizes? Plants that Changed History - 11/29/02
What medicinal root is a common vegetable today? Herbal Folklore - November 12, 2001
Lord Nelson, Napoleon, and the Silesian Beet Plants that Changed History - November 13, 2001
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Perfected Detroit Beet
Gurney's Seed and Nursery®
Uniform Color, Size and Shape
Perfected Detroit Beet has the same great flavor and canning/pickling qualities as Detroit Dark Red, but with more uniform color and shape. Deep rich red color throughout, no rings or white streaks. Always sweet and rich for canning, pickling and eating fresh!
Approx. 400 seeds per packet.
58 DAYS.
Zones: 3 - 9 (-30° F.)
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Freshly dug beets have a buttery-sweet flavor that even kids will love. You get twice as much for your effort, too: the young, green tops are deliciously nutritious. For fall harvests, plant beets anytime from August to September 1 (zone 6- planting dates will vary by zone).
Seed Counts: 1 ounce of beet seed contains about 1,200 seeds and sows a 100-foot row. With our wide selection, you're to find a favorite variety for every use: pickling, canning or fresh eating. Make several planting (3 week intervals are recommended). Garden-fresh beets are a family treat!
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Vegetable Seeds For Sale
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Forono Beet
Gurney's Seed and Nursery®
Sugar Sweet and Easy to Slice
Forono Beet produces smooth, cylindrical shape beets--for perfectly round slices every time. Resists bolting, won't go corky or soft if harvest is delayed.
Freshly dug beets have a buttery-sweet flavor that even kids will love. You get twice as much for your effort, too: the young, green tops are deliciously nutritious.
60 DAYS.
Zones: 3 - 9 (-30° F.)
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Comments: Beets are tender and extra juicy even if harvest is delayed. Small, dark gren tops are sweet, edible. Tolerant to downy mildew. Resists bolting. Catalog names-they are not separate varieties, but the same. Forono was the original name before being changed to Cylindra.
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Ruby Queen Beet
Gurney's Seed and Nursery®
Cans and Pickles Beautifully
Early, round, smooth-skinned beets are exceptionally tender. Ringless and deep red Ruby Queen Beet--retains color through processing.
Freshly dug beets have a buttery-sweet flavor that even kids will love. You get twice as much for your effort, too: the young, green tops are deliciously nutritious.
52 DAYS.
Zones: 3 - 9 (-30° F.)
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Comments: Smooth, medium-dark red globes, dark red flesh. Holds shape well when crowded. Good in poor soils, uniform with fine quality. Popular in Nebraska. Tender. Small taproots. Interior color has no white rings or zones.
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Scarlet Supreme Hybrid Beet
Gurney's Seed and Nursery®
Tasty Roots and Tender Tops
The Scarlet Supreme Hybrid Beet produces bright red, globe-shaped roots which size up fast and have delicious, sweet flavor. Tall, bright green tops are super in salads or cooked.
Freshly dug beets have a buttery-sweet flavor that even kids will love. You get twice as much for your effort, too: the young, green tops are deliciously nutritious.
47 DAYS.
Zones: 3 - 9 (-30° F.)
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Comments: Sweet. Superior interior color and texture. Early maturing variety. The sweetest beet on the market.
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Chioggia Guardsmark Beet
Gurney's Seed and Nursery®
Tastes as Good as It Looks
Baked whole, this improved Chioggia beet retains its beautiful red and white zoning. Makes a striking presentation on the plate! Dresses up salads. Mild, tender and very sweet! Excellent for canning pickling or juicing.
Approx. 200 seeds per pkt.
60 DAYS.
Zones: 3 - 9 (-30° F.)
Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!
Vegetable Seeds For Sale
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