Beetroot

Does anyone have any knowledge of an ENORMOUS beetroot ("beet" maybe in the US??) that has lots of leaf sprouting points on it, kinda like 15 beetroots all modged together? A neighbour has given us one and my husband thinks he said that it was African. I have no idea how to cook it. Just hack it into manageable sized pieces and roast it?

hi. not sure if you mean a sugar beet?

I bet it's a mangel beet (Aka livestock beet) they grow real big with many tops.

I've never eaten one. But grow them for soil building purposes and my friends pig likes them chopped up.

Here is what JL Hudson has to say about their mangels:

MANGEL WURZEL
Beta vulgaris. A type of beet usually grown for stock and poultry feed, but used as
a delicious table vegetable when young and tender. Cooked, the texture is that of
tender beets, but the flavor is more potato-like, with a delightful touch of sweetness.
If you find ordinary beets too strong, try this kind. The roots are globe shaped or
elongated, with red or yellow skin, and white or pale yellow flesh.
Mangels can be grown in almost any soil, but a well-prepared rich loam is best for a
heavy yield of the long kinds. Sow as early as ground can be worked, in rows 2 feet apart.
Thin to 6" apart when seedlings have developed 4 leaves.
USDA Germination Standard: 65%.

—Mangel Wurzel Mammoth Long Red. (b,g) VMAN-MLR. Packet: $2.00
Oz: $6.00, 1/4 lb: $18.00
Produces large thick red roots with pale yellow flesh. Leaves red veined.
Very high yielding variety, excellent for table use even when mature, having almost no
tough fibers. Has a succulent sweetness that lasts through a month or two of storage.
Fine winter food for cattle and poultry.

How do you feed them to poultry? Do you have to cut them up or will they just peck them apart?