Jindal Sugarbeet

Thia's Day, 40 Leaqu 932 CE

Jindal Sugarbeets are a cultivar of the Great Beetroot which is known for its extreme sweetness and extractable sugar. Jindal sugarbeets are almost exclusively grown in the Jindal Duchy of Chaelia, from which it gains its name. The taproot of this plant can be used as a vegetable to sweeten dishes or can be used to make Beetsugar. The leaves are edible, but more bitter than the leaves of other cultivars. This makes beetgreen uses more limited with this variant. Extracting beetsugar from the beet is the most common usage for most sugarbeet farmers. Only rarely is the vegetable used as-is.

Appearance

The taproot of Jindal sugarbeets have a light, lilac-colored skin and a white interior. The taproots grow quite large — achieving diameters of up to 50 cm. The taproots have been bred to be conical in shape and have a rounded crown.

The foliage of the sugarbeet sprouts in clumps from the crown of the beet. It is a rich, dark green in color with lilac-colored stems. The foliage can achieve heights of up to 25 cm.

Jindal sugarbeets that are meant to produce seed are left to grow until in their second year. They produce multiple bright pink flowers bunched on tall stalks. These flowers, when pollinated, will produce dark red seedpods. The seeds are pea-sized and black in color. The seedpods can be used to produce a rich red dye for wool.

Extraction of Sugar

To extract the sugar from the beet, the taproot is first separated from the crown. The taproot is then ground to a fine pulp and boiled. The mixture of beet pulp and water is allowed to achieve a rolling boil and continue to boil overnight. The water is allowed to cool to a warm, but not scalding temperature before the pulp is strained out. The water is then poured into a pan, covered with a cloth, and left outside to evaporate for at least two weeks until a solid brick of sugar is left. The sugar is then broken into pieces and used or sold.

The spent pulp and discarded crown and foliage can be used to supplement the feed of livestock. A common belief is that giving a cow or goat a kilo of pulp per month will have them producing sweeter milk. This belief has not been proven true or otherwise, but some cowherds and goatherds swear by it.