For the plant species and its numerous varieties, see Beta vulgaris. The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while beet borscht vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet. Other cultivars of the same species include the sugar beet, the leaf vegetable known as chard or spinach beet, and mangelwurzel, which is a fodder crop. Beta is the ancient Latin name for beetroot, possibly of Celtic origin, becoming bete in Old English.

The domestication of beetroot can be traced to the emergence of an allele, which enables biennial harvesting of leaves and taproot. Beetroot was domesticated in the ancient Middle East, primarily for their greens, and were grown by the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. During the middle of the 19th century, wine often was colored with beetroot juice. Food shortages in Europe following World War I caused great hardships, including cases of mangelwurzel disease, as relief workers called it. It was symptomatic of eating only beetroot.

Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Usually, the deep purple roots of beetroot are eaten boiled, roasted, or raw, and either alone or combined with any salad vegetable. The green, leafy portion of the beetroot is also edible. The young leaves can be added raw to salads, while the mature leaves are most commonly served boiled or steamed, in which case they have a taste and texture similar to spinach. In Australia and New Zealand, sliced pickled beetroot is a common ingredient in traditional hamburgers. In Eastern Europe, beetroot soup, such as borscht and barszcz czerwony, is common.

Russian cold soup made from leftover beet greens and chopped beetroots, typically with bread and kvass added. Botvinya got its name from the Russian botva, which means “root vegetable greens,” referring to beet plant leaves. Russian beet-based soup, typically distinguished from borscht in that vegetables for svekolnik are cooked raw and not fried, while many types of borscht typically include fried carrots and other fried vegetables. Svekolnik got its name from svekla or svyokla, two Russian words for “beet. Sometimes, various types of cold borscht are also called “svekolnik.