Hate Beets? Science May Have The Answer Why - Just Beet It

Do you hate beets? If you despise the quirky beetroot, scientific studies may have an answer for your adverse reactions.

Thanks to science, you can put your mind at ease. It may not be your traumatic childhood memories of eating canned beets at dinner or swallowing mouth-puckering pickled beets at a family picnic that now make you cringe in horror at the sight of the humble beetroot. There are scientifically proven reasons for why some people dislike beets while others love them.

WHY DO BEETS TASTE LIKE DIRT?

Depending on who you ask, people seem to either adore or detest beets. Some people describe beets as sweet and others rant about the beet’s “earthy” taste; however, many people compare eating beets to chewing a mouth full of dirt. Yes. Beets are grown in dirt; however, the common misconception has been that because beets grow in the soil, they taste like dirt. The truth is that you are not actually eating dirt when eating beets, unless you didn’t wash your beets and are munching on them straight out of the soil.

Studies show that beets taste like dirt to some people because they contain a chemical called GEOSMIN (which means “dirt smell”), an organic compound produced by a type of actinobacteria called Streptomyces. Produced by organisms in the soil, this compound produces a distinctly earthy odor, an aroma that occurs in the air after a rainfall and in beets (along with other foods, such as mushrooms, carrots, chard, and grapes). This explains why people often think beets taste like “dirt” because geosmin has an earthy smell, like that of a freshly plowed field or wet soil.

WHAT IS GEOSMIN? THE INTERESTING TRUTH ABOUT BEETS AND WHY SOME PEOPLE DESPISE THEM.

So why do some people like beets while others hate them? Evidence shows that the beet’s natural chemical compound seems to be one that people either love or loathe. According to Jo Robinson, health writer and author of Eating on the Wild Side, "After a rain shower, the air is permeated with the odor of geosmin. We humans are extremely sensitive to the aroma of geosmin and can detect it in concentrations as low as five parts per trillion. People who do not like the odor will have a hard time eating beets." Since we often discern flavor through smell, beets taste like dirt based on what we are smelling.

The American Society for Horticulture Science also discusses the aromatic earthy compound geosmin to which some humans are remarkably sensitive. Because of this sensitivity, “The earthy taste of beet (B. vulgaris L.), caused by geosmin, elicits strong favorable and unfavorable reactions from consumers.” In addition, research shared by the National Center for Biotechnology Center in Chemosphere indicates that, “On the sensory level, very few individuals are immune to geosmin and although the intensity of the defect caused by this molecule decreases rapidly in the nose, a bad taste is very persistent in the mouth.”

Because humans (some more than others) are extremely sensitive to geosmin, people may react negatively or enjoy geosmin’s earthy taste. This explains why some people hate beets, while others who like the earthy smell after a rainfall, often love beets! Yup. There ARE people who LOVE beets.