The image, above, shows the full Common Sea Beet plant (Betavulgaris subsp. maritima) showing the young plant,
bottom right, the whole plant just coming into flower, top left,
the plant with mature flowers, bottom left and the sprawling seed
heads, top right..
| Common Name: Sea Beet |
| Scientific Name: Beta vulgaris |
| Other Names: Common Sea Beet, Wild Spinach, Beta maritima |
| Family: Chenopodiaceae |
| Range: Coastal areas of Europe, including Britain, south and east to N. Africa and Asia to the East Indies |
Physical Characteristics
Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima is a hardy Annual/Perennial plant, growing to 1.2m (4ft) by 2m (6 ft 8 in) in size. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers from July to September and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are wind pollinated.
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| Edible Parts: Leaves |
 Edibility Rating: 3 
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 Known Hazards: None Known.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Sea Beet along with all the Sea Beet containing recipes presented on this site, with 5 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Sea Beet as a major wild food ingredient.
Sea Beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima is a member of the Chenopodiaceae (which includes spinach and Fat Hen) family. The plant grows in dense clumps by the sea and can be easily identified by its thick, shiny dark-green leaves. It is a perennial plant that grows up to 1.2m, and flowers from July until September. Its flowers are hermaphroditic, and wind pollinated.
Sea beet is the ancestor of a number of common vegetables, including Sugar beet, Beetroot, Mangelwurzel, Mangold and Chard. Sea beet greens can be cooked as you would spinach or chard and tastes like a more flavoursome cross between these two greens.
The leaves are best in spring, when young. At this stage they can be consumed raw or cooked. Lightly blanched, they make a tasty spinach substitute. However, the leaves become more bitter as the season progresses (particularly if the weather is hot). This bitterness can be alleviated by boiling in salted water. But due to the bitterness, only the spring greens suit most peoples' taste. Some find the raw greens unpleasant, as they can leave a distinct after-taste.
Some people enjoy the plant as a spring green and in maritime areas it is grown both as an ornamental plant and as a vegetable.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Sea Beet as a major wild food ingredient.
Sea Beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima is a member of the Chenopodiaceae (which includes spinach and Fat Hen) family. The plant grows in dense clumps by the sea and can be easily identified by its thick, shiny dark-green leaves. It is a perennial plant that grows up to 1.2m, and flowers from July until September. Its flowers are hermaphroditic, and wind pollinated.
Sea beet is the ancestor of a number of common vegetables, including Sugar beet, Beetroot, Mangelwurzel, Mangold and Chard. Sea beet greens can be cooked as you would spinach or chard and tastes like a more flavoursome cross between these two greens.
The leaves are best in spring, when young. At this stage they can be consumed raw or cooked. Lightly blanched, they make a tasty spinach substitute. However, the leaves become more bitter as the season progresses (particularly if the weather is hot). This bitterness can be alleviated by boiling in salted water. But due to the bitterness, only the spring greens suit most peoples' taste. Some find the raw greens unpleasant, as they can leave a distinct after-taste.
Some people enjoy the plant as a spring green and in maritime areas it is grown both as an ornamental plant and as a vegetable.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Sea Beet recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 5 recipes in total:
Page 1 of 1
| Dover Sole with Salt Marsh Greens Origin: Britain | Sea Beet Greens Fritters Origin: Britain | Shourabit Silq bi Laban (Chard and Yoghurt Soup) Origin: Lebanon |
| Sea Bass with Sea Beet and Marsh Samphire Origin: Britain | Shellfish Seaweed Pudding Origin: Ancient |
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