The Ancient Crapaudine Beet

The oldest heirloom in my garden this year, the Crapuadine beet stretches back over 1000 years.

I love trying new varieties in my garden.  Last winter when I was looking through seed catalogs and planning my 2010 garden, I saw a beet variety in a seed catalog that caught my eye.  It was shaped like a gnarled carrot, almost black in color, and with an exterior so rough it is reminiscent of tree bark.  In short, it is not a thing of beauty. 

And the name, Crapaudine, doesn't sound so great in English either, even if the etymology of the word, which mean "lady toad" beet, provides some reassurances.  No, what convinced me to add this beet to my planting list was its heritage. 

The Crapaudine is a very, very old variety. It is known to have been cultivated in French gardens of the 17th century and it is believed to date back to the time of Charlemagne (800 AD), the Frankish king who is considered the father of modern Europe. 

Many of today's vegetable varieties have been so improved over the years that they bare little resemblance to their ancient ancestors.  I don't really have an objection to domestication of this kind in general as it has given us many wonderful heirloom and hybrid vegetable varieties.   But today commercial agriculture is on the verge of destroying the biodiversity of our food supply in the pursuit of producing just a handful of varieties that are more about long shelf life and transportability than flavor.

So given the opportunity, I wanted to try a beet variety that was as close to its wild ancestor as possible.   And I'm glad I did.

The Crapuadine is deeply red on the inside, has an intense beety taste, and is less sweet than another family favorite, the Chioggia beet.  Crapaudine beets have very woody skin that makes them a good choice for gardeners who overwinter their root vegetables.  However, the skin is also difficult to peel,  so we cooked these beets by wrapping them in aluminum foil and baking them in the oven.  We then peeled the beets after removing them from the oven. 

Most beets take about 50-60 days to mature.  Crapaudine take about 70 days but require the same sort of conditions as other beet varieties:

• grow in well composted soil in the early Spring or Fall. (cool seasons)
• Plant in full sun, but they can also be grown in partial shade. 
• Direct sow and then thin to every 4 inches.
• Keep well watered.

If you decide to try this variety next year, let me know by adding a comment to this posting.

 

Comments

[Michael Adam]

I started growing the Crapaudine last year for the same reasons you gave above. The leaves and root are certainly not "improved" by today's standards, but both are delicious nonetheless. I left two of the plants to overwinter, because I wanted to try saving seeds. Something about saving the seeds would make me feel like I was truly participating in this noble plant's heritage.

[H. Mark Delman]

Hi Michael. I save tomato and pepper seeds because its so easy to do. I really hadnt thought about beets, but youve inspired me to give it a try. Thanks for sharing.