Mangelwurzel or mangold wurzel (from German Mangel/Mangold, "chard" and Wurzel, "root"), also called mangold, mangel beet, fodder beet and (archaic) root of scarcity, is a cultivated root vegetable. It is a variety of Beta vulgaris, Their large white, yellow or orange-yellow swollen roots were developed in the 18th century as a fodder crop for feeding livestock.

Uses

thumb|Harvested mangelwurzels in Cornwall, UK, circa 2009.

Contemporary use is primarily for cattle,

The mangelwurzel has a history in England of being used for sport ("mangold hurling"), for celebration, for animal fodder, and for the brewing of a potent alcoholic beverage. The 1830 Scottish cookbook The Practice of Cookery includes a recipe for a beer made with mangelwurzel. In 19th-century American usage, mangel beets were sometimes referred to as "mango".

During the Irish Famine (1845–1852), Poor Law Guardians in Galway City leased (on a 999-year-lease) an former nunnery to house 1,000 orphaned or deserted boys ages from five to about 15. Here, the boys were taught tailoring, shoe making, and agricultural skills. On a plot, they grew potatoes, cabbage, parsnips, carrots, onions, Swedish turnips, and "mangold wurtzel", both for workhouse consumption and for a cash crop.

Mangelwurzels are used as winter food for dairy cows, especially in New Zealand. Veterinarians used to believe that the plant contains too much oxalate for cattle to eat, but farmers found that very high amounts of grazed mangelwurzel killed only a very small portion of cows, with the rest thriving. It is now known that these deaths were due to rumen acidosis and had nothing to do with oxalate. Safer protocols to transition cows onto mangelwurzel feed were then provided, making the entire process quite safe.

As with most foods, subsisting on solely one crop can produce dietary deficiency. The food shortages in Europe after World War I caused great hardships, including cases of mangel-wurzel disease, as relief workers called it. It was a consequence of eating only beets.

Growing requirements

In general, mangelwurzel are easy to grow. They may require supplementary potassium for optimum yields, flavour, and texture, and foliage readily displays potassium deficiency as interveinal chlorosis. This can be corrected with either organic or inorganic sources of potash.

Mangelwurzel is very susceptible to damage from frost.

Mangelwurzel seeds were sent by Benjamin Rush to George Washington.

Worzel Gummidge, the protagonist in a series of children's books and television adaptations, is a scarecrow whose head is made from a mangelwurzel.

See also

  • Beet
  • Beetroot
  • Rutabaga
  • Turnip
  • Chard
  • The Wurzels, a British band

References

Further reading

  • Commerell, Abbé de Mémoire et instruction sur la culture, l’usage et les avantages de la racine de disette ou betterave champêtre, Paris : Impr. royale, 1786, 8vo., 24 p. / 1788, 4to., 15 p. / Paris : Buisson, 1786, 8vo., 44 p. / 1787 (3e éd.), 8vo., 47 p. / Metz : Impr. de Ve Antoine et fils, et Paris : Impr. de Ve Hérissant, 1786, 8vo., 40 p. / Paris : chez Onfroy et Petit, 1788, 8vo., 47 p. / édition raccourcie, Paris, Impr. royale, 1788, 4to., 15 p.
  • --do.-- An Account of the Culture and Use of the Mangel Wurzel, or root of scarcity, London : C. Dilly, 1787, 8vo., 56 p. / 3rd ed. Edited by John Coakley Lettsom. London : C. Dilly, 1787, 8vo., xxxix, 51 p.
  • The Guardian online report on Post Office closures, during which protesters used Mangelwurzel lanterns as a symbol of village tradition