Beta vulgaris.

An heir of 19th-century gardens, rediscovered in recent decades by chefs and lovers of seasonal cooking. Its coppery-orange skin hides flesh of a brilliant solar yellow — hence the name — with a noticeably milder, sweeter, less earthy flavour than that of its red cousin. And above all, it doesn't stain anything: not your fingers, not the cutting board, not the salad you slip it into raw, finely grated.

Grated raw with a drizzle of lemon and olive oil, roasted whole in the oven then peeled by hand, marinated in mustard, or laid out in thin slices in a carpaccio alongside goat cheese — the golden beet is the darling of seasonal cooking because it's pretty, versatile, and preserves the colours of the ingredients around it.

Don't forget the tops — tender, mild, to be cooked like spinach or Swiss chard.

Grower's tip: Each beet "seed" is a glomerule containing several seeds — sow less densely than you think, and thin early. The golden one has a reputation for a more capricious germination rate than red beets — soak the seeds 4 to 6 hours in warm water before sowing to give emergence a boost.

• Open-pollinated.
• Grows in ~55-60 days.
• Top height: 30 to 40 cm.
• Maturity: 50 to 65 days.
• Exposure: full sun. Loose, deep, well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil.
• Thin to 10 cm. Direct-sow as soon as the soil can be worked in spring, then a new wave in mid-July for a fall harvest. Harvest preferably before the roots exceed 7-8 cm across — beyond that, they tend to turn fibrous.