Chioggia beets are an Italian heirloom variety native to Chioggia, Italy. Chioggia beets thought to be one of the earliest garden beets, began in a small fishing village in northern Italy prior to 1840. Experts believe that beets were used medicinally in the Mediterranean region in prehistoric times. It was much later that somebody discovered that beets were good for eating. The root was then spread to the rest of Europe and introduced to the United States in the 1800s. The flesh of Chioggia beets has alternating rings of white and bright red, like a candy cane. The beets retain their flavor when they are baked whole and carefully sliced, but will be pink before cooking.