Lets Get to the Root of It:  Root Vegetables!

Root vegetables are the ultimate all-natural comfort food, delivering bold flavors and hearty, dense, textures that make them a favorite among chefs and foodies alike. Here’s what you need to know about four of California’s finest root vegetables available from your favorite produce wholesaler, Produce Services of Los Angeles:

Beets

Beets are truly a two-in-one vegetable, thanks to the fact that both the rich dark leafy green tops (similar to chard) and the round taproot part are edible and delicious. The vast majority of beet roots available have a deep blood-red flesh, while heirloom varieties featuring white, bright yellow, orange, or bulls-eye striped colored roots are also being cultivated.

Beets belong to the chenopod family along with spinach and quinoa, which are believed to have special characteristics that offer unique health benefits including improved nervous system health, as well as being high in Vitamin C, iron, and magnesium.

While goat cheese is the go-to pairing with beet roots, they also go great with cabbage, apples, carrots, and dill, and a shake of cinnamon can really boost their flavor profile.

Radishes

Radishes, native to Asia, have been cultivated for centuries, with their name being derived from the Latin word radix, which means ‘root’. The ancient Romans and Greeks were known to serve them up with honey and vinegar, while radish cultivation spread to England, Germany, and North America by the 1500s. They’re part of the cruciferous family, and just like their botanical cousins broccoli and cabbage, radishes are high in cancer-fighting phytonutrients.

Unlike most root vegetables that take months to mature, most varieties of this quick-growing root vegetable are ready for harvest a mere 20-35 days after seeding. Radishes are the unsung heros of the root vegetable clan, and at best, they’re most frequently served up raw in salads where they add a peppery punch.

For a unique twist, try braising, roasting, or grilling radishes, which both mellows out their strong peppery flavor and brings out their natural sweetness. Look for unique color variations including white, red, purple, or black, and remember that just like with beets, radish tops (a.k.a. radish greens) are edible too!

Carrots

California growers produce about 85% of the national carrot crop across 62,000 acres, making this a great place to find the freshest, tastiest carrots in the country!

Believed to have been first eaten in Persia where they grow wild, carrots arrived in America with the Virginia colonists who valued them for their high beta-carotene content and ability to be stored for months with minimal deterioration. As a member of the parsley family, (along with dill, celery, and anise) carrots are loaded with healthy nutrients; in fact, a single carrot contains more than double the recommended daily serving of Vitamin A, as well as generous amounts of Vitamins K and C.

With the re-emergence of heirloom vegetables, carrots are no longer limited to being bright orange in color. Reds, yellows, and purples are becoming a common sight, transforming these staple root veggies from simple culinary sidekicks into eye-catching, full-flavored mains in dishes like gingered carrot and kale ribbons and root vegetable vegetarian cassoulet.

Garlic

Here in California, garlic isn’t just another crop – it’s a way of life; the wildly popular Gilroy Garlic Festival attracts nearly 100.000 visitors each year who spend a weekend indulging in all things garlic, including garlic ice cream!

Our local producers grow around 90% of the country’s commercial garlic crop, with the vast majority grown in the San Joaquin Valley where it’s planted in the fall and not harvested until the following summer. The California garlic industry has faced threats from cheap Chinese imports in recent years, however, those in the know understand that paying a bit more for local produce is worth it.

Per capita consumption of this sweet, pungent root veggie hovers around 2.3 pounds annually, and in many circles, garlic is considered to be a ‘superfood’, thanks to it’s well-known anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties, and farmers are beginning to use garlic blended with oil as an all-natural pesticide.

While garlic has always been a staple among chefs who want to infuse hearty red meats and poultry with rich, savory flavor, it’s gaining popularity as a sweet ingredient as well – when roasted, garlic becomes buttery-smooth and decadently sweet, making it a great addition to breads, mixed with humus, or even a honey-poached garlic dessert sauce!

Produce Services of Los Angeles, Inc. is a wholesale distributor of all of the above mentioned vegetables, as well as a full line of other fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables as well as dry goods.