The best chefs are always searching for new ingredients to expand their culinary creativity. Often those ingredients aren’t really new, but have only recently become available. It may be a Middle Eastern spice mixture, or a fruit, such as the Indonesian mangosteen, that’s only recently been approved for import to the U.S. Old-become-new heritage breeds of animals and heirloom vegetables and fruits that were developed because of extraordinary flavor instead of industrial agriculture adaptability are increasingly found in chefs’ kitchens and even becoming available to home cooks.

Then there’s the humble beet. Until recently, beets were mostly just a cool/cold weather staple in American homes, usually boiled, canned or pickled, rarely appearing on restaurant menus. In my family we ate beets from midsummer on, because we grew them for ourselves and to sell. They were served sliced and buttered or pickled, period. As a child, I thought buttered beets were OK, but detested my grandmother’s pickled beets.

I liked cold cooked beets best and ate them whole, like apples. But I had a grudge against beets: the seed was sown down long, seemingly endless rows; when the sprouts were a couple inches long they had to be thinned by hand, on one’s knees, to provide enough space for the roots to develop. It was my most hated garden task. These days, those sprouts, called beet microgreens, are used by chefs for garnishing.

They (and other micro-greens) fetch what some think are astronomical prices. But I know how much labor they take, and laugh when I think of the thousands of dollars’ worth I tossed aside to shrivel and die.

These days, chefs and “foodies” are rediscovering beets – finding new, delectable uses and cooking techniques for them, and old/new varieties.

What most Americans call beets are called beetroots in the U.K. and Commonwealth countries. They’re part of a family, Beta vulgaris, that includes white sugar beets, Swiss chard (called silverbeet in the U.K., etc.) and mangel-wurzel, a European beet grown for fodder that weighs up to 100 pounds.

Like Swiss chard, beet greens and stems are nutritious and delicious, but that’s another column. Beets (the roots) are now widely available in colors besides red: white, golden and even one, Chioggia (kee-OH-gee-uh) with red and white-striped rings (when cooked the stripes disappear, and they turn pink).

Even though beets are sweet, they contain only modest amounts of calories and carbohydrates, except for sugar beets, which aren’t eaten as a vegetable. Garden beets are exceptionally nutritious and considered “hearthealthy” – containing antioxidants that lower cholesterol, have antiaging effects and provide protection against coronary artery disease and strokes. I’ve had differentcolored beets that were precisely cut and fitted to make a stunningly beautiful mosaic, and a red beet juice reduction sauce topped with sautéed salmon in upscale restaurants. Über-chef Mario Batali fills ravioli with ricotta and mashed beets, dressing them with poppyseeds, butter and grated cheese. It’s a lovely dish because the deep-pink filling shows through the thin dough. When my children were young, I’d add ½ c. puréed red beets to pasta dough and cut the rolled-out dough with a heart-shaped cutter for Valentine’s Day raviolis.

Beets are especially good for salads, on a lettuce bed or alone. The possibilities are endless; here are three suggestions: Toss cubed red beets with thick yoghurt seasoned with minced garlic and lemon juice, a traditional Greek medze (appetizer).

Alternate red and golden beet slices with fresh mozzarella discs, drizzle with good olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Optional garnish of fresh basil shreds.

Beets and oranges are an especially felicitous pairing. Combine beets with seedless orange sections or round oranges slices. Mix in thinly sliced fennel bulb for some crunch, optional. Use red beets with regular oranges, or reverse colors by using golden beets and blood oranges, now in season. Dress with sweet-sour vinaigrette and sprinkle with poppy seeds and snipped fennel fronds, if fennel is added to the mixture.

Contact Julianne Glatz at realcuisine.jg@gmail.com.