Each Fall I see big piles of these in farmer's fields. I thought they were potatoes, but on closer inspection I saw they're larger than potatoes. This is in Southwest Germany.

by VenisonMogambi

25 comments

  6. So in Germany we make sugar out of beets, Sugar beets. They are not purple like the Dwight Beets. They get harvested and brought to a few big sugar factories, the whole process called ,Zuckerrübenkampagne‘.

    https://www.pfeifer-langen.com/zuckerruebenkampagne-2024-startet-unter-herausfordernden-bedingungen/#:~:text=Köln%2C%2004.09.2024%20–%20Die,September.

    The factories basically work around the clock after Harvest for a few months and after all is done they get cleaned for the next year. What it left of the beets after all the suger is extracted is called ,Rübenschnitzel‘ and brought to other factories for dog food for example.

  9. By the way: this is called a “Miete”.

    If you hear someone say “Das ist die halbe Miete”, it relates to these kinds of heaps and not what you pay every month to your landlord.

  15. Btw. Don’t eat them, while they taste sugary they are toxic unprepared and contain Glykosinolate which burns in your mouth. Also they contain 20% sugar.

  17. You cannot grow sugar cane here. The climate doesn’t match so this is our source of refined sugar. It contains less sugar though.

  18. I live near the Südzucker factory. It makes sugar from it. Because they have a campaign now, it smells like sweet beets everywhere around here

  19. They are harvested from the ground, not during their fall

  20. I don’t mean to be contrary to everybody who, i’m certain has more knowledge of Germany specific agriculture, I think it’s celery root (celeriac).

  21. These are sugar beets. Took a few bites when I was a kid back then 😂

  22. As other answered, sugar beets. The harvest season is long as it follows the factory production cycle, around 120 days per year, so the can occasionally ve covered on the field and stored for a few months if no frost.

  24. I see these piles of sugar beets here in central Bavaria and always wonder why they don’t start to rot or get moldy. Some are even covered by tarps. I would think that’s a good way to spoil a fresh harvest.

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