Sugar Beet

A root vegetable that is grown commercially to be processed into sugar and sugar products. The Sugar Beet was developed from the Sea Beet and is a member of the beetroot and chard family of root vegetables. This vegetable is not a garden variety food but is a commercially grown food to be sold to large sugar processors interested in extracting the high sucrose content in the Beet. The Sugar Beet, which is heavy and leafy, is removed from the ground by large harvesting equipment and sent to processing facilities where the Beets are cut into thin slices in order to provide more surface area from which sugar juices can be extracted. As the juice is removed from the Sugar Beets, the Beets are steam processed into a sugar syrup. The syrup can then be crystalized into sugar or used in a syrup form as a sweetener for a variety of foods.