Sea-beet

[sanderling]

I walked down to the beach earlier on and picked myself a bunch of Sea Beet so I thought I'd cook it to go with my supper - something I have not tried eating before. Has anyone else tried eating Sea Beet?

One thing that I noticed was that something had been feeding on some of the leaves - small round holes like those made by a caterpiller of some sort, what could this be at this time of year?

[Paul mabbott]

I'm intrigued. What is sea-beet? Do you have any other names for it?

Originally Posted by sanderling

I walked down to the beach earlier on and picked myself a bunch of Sea Beet so I thought I'd cook it to go with my supper - something I have not tried eating before. Has anyone else tried eating Sea Beet?

One thing that I noticed was that something had been feeding on some of the leaves - small round holes like those made by a caterpiller of some sort, what could this be at this time of year?

[Bub-les]

The sea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima) is a member of the family Chenopodiaceae, and is the wild ancestor of common vegetables such as beetroot ( copied from google!)
Quite a few people over here eat it. Must admit I haven't looks too much like spinach for my liking.

[Gill Catton]

I munched on a bit raw a few times when doing esturaine bird counts that go on for hours its quite nice, quite salty though it made my tongue go funny after a bit.
I have never cooked any hang on I'm sure I own a book that will help back in a bit

[Gill Catton]

right, firstly please please make sure its sea beet and you're not about to poison yourself.

in my book 'wild food' by Roger Phillips published by Pan books 1983 (isbn 0 33028069 4)
it says cook like spinach and suggests three recipes-
Sea beet quiche

Sea Beet and yoghurt soup and pancakes stuffed with sea beet chedder cheese and tomatoes

all three recipes seem to indeed use sea beet as spinach would be used.

can't help you on whatever wee beastie has nibbled on the leave only assure you that this time, it wasn't me!!!

[Paul mabbott]

Well, that's improved my knowledge! Thanks.

If it's a Beta then cook the leaves like spinach (i.e. briefly) or use it in a sauce. It will be very rich in vitamins and minerals.
Beta leave taste more of beetroot than spinach (which I feel doesn't have much flavour anyway) - earthier and quite sweet.

Incidentally there are some 'beetroots' that have been selected for their leaf rather than their roots: chards. Very good and winter hardy!

Originally Posted by Bub-les

The sea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima) is a member of the family Chenopodiaceae, and is the wild ancestor of common vegetables such as beetroot ( copied from google!)
Quite a few people over here eat it. Must admit I haven't looks too much like spinach for my liking.

[Paul mabbott]

Oh and I'd guess that the holes are made by slugs/snails - they commonly eat rolled-up, developing leaves thus leaving round holes when the leaf unfurls.

[sanderling]

I can report that the Sea-beet that I tried eating was quite tasty, yes, very similar to spinach. I think next time though, I'll only boil it about five minutes.

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by sanderling

I can report that the Sea-beet that I tried eating was quite tasty, yes, very similar to spinach. I think next time though, I'll only boil it about five minutes.

yes in the books that i read it said to wash the leaves and then just wilt in a pan with no extra water - so essentially steam rather than boil - good to hear it was tasty though! Was it at all salty?