Baby beetroot vies for space beside sprouts at Christmas

Once shunned, beetroot is being re-branded as bunches of multi-coloured vegetables go on sale to brighten the Christmas table.

Sainsbury's is selling Spanish-grown bunches of golden, white and chioggia — or candy-striped — varieties of baby beetroot, suggesting them as additions to the familiar stable of roasted seasonal vegetables.

All three varieties were once popular with Victorians but until recently have only been available to those who grew them on their allotment or shopped at farmers' markets.

The supermarket chain will sell the "delicate and sweet" beetroots in more than 100 stores from next week.