What to look for
Sweet, succulent and adaptable, beetroot adds colour and vibrant flavour to dishes. Small beetroot, often known as baby beets, have a particularly delicate flavour.

Choose firm bulbs with fresh, green leafy tops. The stalks are pleasantly astringent and cooked in the same way as spring greens or spinach.

If the skin is damaged, the colour bleeds out from the beetroot while it cooks - so do look for unblemished beets. It's best to steer clear of beetroot larger than 6cm in diameter - they may have a tough woody core.

Golden beetroot used to be popular in the nineteenth century, and is currently enjoying a revival in upmarket restaurants. It has a more subtle flavour than regular beets and doesn't leave any stains on fingers and chopping boards.

Although they're best used fresh, uncooked beetroot can keep for about 10 days in the fridge - trim the leafy tops to about 3cm above the bulb - this helps prolong its storage life.

In the kitchen
Cook beetroot whole, trimming the stalks to about 3cm above the bulb, if you haven't already done so. Don't bother peeling or trimming the tail - that way, its intense maroon colour won't be lost.

Baking is the best way to develop its true flavour, and is especially suited to larger bulbs. Wrap each bulb in aluminium foil and roast at 180C/gas 4 for about an hour, until they're tender when pierced with a knife. When they're ready, the skin should easily peel away.

Beetroot can also be boiled - the cooking time depends on their size. Baby beetroot, which first appear in our markets in early June, are especially good treated this way.

Top tips
Its sweet flavour and vibrant colour makes a natural match with tart ingredients such as oranges, apples and peppery horseradish.

Cloaked in vinaigrette dressing, diced, cooked beetroot makes a colourful salad. Try adding crunch by tossing in toasted, chopped walnuts and fresh herbs such as chives, mint and flat-leafed parsley. Ring the changes by combining cooked beetroot puree with buttery mashed potatoes.

A popular ingredient in East European cookery, beetroot is the base for bortsch - a classic Russian soup.

For a snappy hot vegetable accompaniment, fry diced cooked beetroot in butter, sharpen with red wine vinegar, and sweeten with sugar. A good grind of black pepper sets it off a treat. Try serving it with roast pork and rich game dishes.

You might want to wear protective gloves when handling cooked maroon beetroot, as the colour does stain.

Did you know
Raw beetroot juice makes a great pick-me-up, and combines well with apple and carrot juice