Beta vulgaris - There are nine different species in the beta family; beta vulgaris being the most widely known. The tap root and leaves of the beet plant are edible. The leaves are usually steamed or boiled, having a taste similar to spinach. The beet root is either pickled, eaten cold as a salad or made into borscht, a soup of Ukranian origin. The juice of the root contains betanin and provides an intense reddish color; the juice of the root is used as a industrial food coloring additive.
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Belarus, Russia, and the Ukraine trace their ancestral beginnings to Kievan Rus’, a collection of eastern Slavic fiefdoms. Prince Oleg of Novgorod is regarded as the founder of Kievan Rus’. He inherited the holdings of Rurik, a Varangian chieftain. The kingdom was expanded by capturing and relocating the capital to Kiev. The Mongol invasion of the 13th century splintered Kievan Rus’. The southern section, the Ukraine, did not become fully independent for any real length of time until 1991.
