Beta vulgaris.

One of the most beautiful beets in the world, originating in the small fishing town of Chioggia, at the southern tip of the Venetian lagoon, where it has been cultivated since at least the start of the 19th century, documented in Italian seed catalogs from the 1840s onward. The variety's signature lies entirely in its cross-section: sliced raw, it reveals a spectacular pattern of concentric circles alternating bright magenta-pink and cream-white, like a target painted by a Cubist artist, or like the growth rings of a tree miniaturized in full colour. This unusual structure comes from a rare recessive genetic phenotype where successive layers of the root develop with alternating concentrations of anthocyanins — a trait that would probably have disappeared in industrial culture if Venetian gardeners had not patiently preserved the variety for two centuries. Rediscovered today by modern cooking, it appears regularly on the menus of fine restaurants and makes a sensation the moment it lands on a plate.

A round, smooth root 5-7 cm in diameter, with uniform dark-pink skin — nothing on the outside hints at the inner pattern. A particularly mild and fruity flavour, far less earthy than traditional red beets (less rich in geosmin, the volatile compound that gives classic beets their "earthy" character) — making it the perfect beet for those who usually don't like beets. The essential way to feature it: raw. Finely sliced on a mandoline, the zebra-striped pattern is on full display and stays intact — ideal in a carpaccio drizzled with olive oil and white balsamic vinegar, on a toast with fresh goat cheese, or in a warm salad with arugula and walnuts. Alas, the pattern disappears when cooked: the red pigments diffuse uniformly under heat and the root turns a monochrome pink throughout. To preserve the stripes through cooking, add white vinegar to the water (the acid stabilizes the anthocyanins) or cook the beet whole in the oven wrapped in foil. The leaves (young or mature) are also delicious, sautéed like the Swiss chard already described in our pages — it's actually the very same species.

Grower's tip: Like all beets, the "grain" of seed is actually a false fruit (a glomerule) containing 3 to 5 true seeds that all germinate together — so it's essential to thin after emergence, keeping only one plant per spot. The thinned seedlings are edible in salad. Direct-sow only, as soon as the soil can be worked (early May in Québec), at 1 cm deep. Soaking the seeds 4-6 hours before sowing speeds germination. Harvest at about 5-7 cm in diameter; beyond that, the flesh tends to turn slightly fibrous. Like the golden beet, Chioggia keeps somewhat less long in the root cellar than the classic red beets — 2-3 months in cold humid storage.

• Open-pollinated. Italian heritage variety predating 1840. Biennial; flowers in the second year. Wind-pollinated; crosses with all other beets (sugar, salad, fodder) — isolate rigorously for seed saving.
• Top height: 30-40 cm.
• Maturity: 55-60 days.
• Exposure: full sun; part shade tolerated.
• Loose, well-drained, neutral-to-slightly-alkaline soil. Thin imperatively to 7-10 cm in the row after emergence.
• Direct-sow early May in Québec, at 1 cm deep. Staggered sowings possible until late July for fall harvest.