Turnips get a Bad Rap

There are a few vegetables that I refuse to eat and butter beans is on the top of my list!  My Mother is an awesome cook but sometimes she missed the mark on some of her creations.  She used to make a dreadful dish consisting of several cans of butter beans (including the liquid) dumped into a round glass casserole dish, layering bacon on top and baking it.  The mere smell of it made me sick to my stomach and I hated that dish so much that, at times, I refused to eat.

  The turnip was, for reasons I can’t now recall, also a veggie that was once on my banned list.  Once while having dinner at a friend’s house, I mistook them for mashed potatoes and fell in LOVE with them right then and there! How could I have disliked the turnip when it tasted so good?             Years later during a Christmas dinner, my Mother discovered she was eating turnips instead of mashed potatoes and we had a family crisis on our hands!  (True confession - she was technically eating mashed potatoes, turnips and rutabagas, but I didn’t tell her that). My Mother hated turnips and never cooked them or even allowed herself to try them until she unknowingly ate my mashed medley of root vegetables (recipe will follow below).  She projected her dislike of turnips on her children as we grew up and so we developed the impression that turnips were bad.  My repulsion to the butter bean was similar to her repulsion to the turnip.  Who knew? I have since learned that the turnip is a wonderful vegetable and I’m surprised that so many people don’t like them.  This year, I have included turnips in my CSA distribution and I love to hear customers’ comments about what they are doing with them each week.     Some have also grown to love the turnip and gleefully share the different ways that they cook their bulbs.  Others are not so much in love but have a favorite recipe or two that will do the job.  Then there are others that just plain hate turnips (a similar disdain that I have to the butter bean) and ask to take them back.     According to Wikipedia, the turnip has a long history and was domesticated before the 15^th century.  Throughout the world, the turnip has been a popular and a not so popular veggie.  In Ireland and Scotland, turnips have been used as Halloween lanterns.  In traditional Celtic festivals, rutabagas (which are larger turnips) were hollowed out, carved with faces and placed in windows in the hopes of scaring off evil spirits. In Nordic countries, turnips provided the staple crop before their replacement by the potato in the 18^th century.  In Turkey, turnip flavored salgam, is a juice made from purple carrots and spices served ice cold.  In Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon, turnips are pickled. The Japanese also like their turnips pickled as well as stir fried in salt and soy sauce.  In addition, they are fans of turnip greens, the very nutritious top of the turnip. In Brazil, the turnip is not a favored veggie as it is in other parts of the world and is thought to have an unpleasant taste.           However, part of the bias may be more of a social stigma vs. actual taste as, since the Middle Ages, turnips were an inexpensive crop that were associated with the poor and avoided by the nobility.     Here in the United States turnips are popular throughout the country.  In the 1800’s, Westport Massachusetts was considered the turnip capital of the U.S thanks to two brothers, Aiden and Elihu MaComber.  In 1876, they returned from the Philadelphia Exposition with a pocket full of turnip seeds and decided to go into the turnip business.  The Bristol Whites were descendants of Swedish and Russian turnip seeds and flourished in the fertile ground of Westport. They soon became a popular and sought after commodity from Boston to Providence, Rhode Island.       Today they are a popular root crop used in all kinds of dishes.  Personally, I prefer to treat them as a potato.  If counting calories, the turnip is a good substitute for potatoes.  The turnip root is also high in vitamin C and turnip greens (the tops) are a good source of vitamins A, C & K as well as folate and calcium.     The USDA states that one medium turnip (122 g) contains the following nutritional elements:

• Calories: 34
• Fat: 0.12
• Carbohydrates: 7.84
• Fibers: 2.2
• Protein: 1.10
• Cholesterol: 0

As is the case with potatoes, there are many different ways of preparing turnips.  All that’s needed is a little imagination and you will have treasure trove of recipes.  There are simple techniques like simmering in water (low boil) to the more detailed techniques such as Turnips Au Gratin.  All in all, turnips are one of the most versatile root vegetables imaginable. Here are my favorite techniques: Quick Simmering/Low Boil Method:              Water: Peel, cut into chucks and place in a pot big enough to cover them with cold water. Simmer on low heat until fork tender and then drain well. In a bowl, add a few tablespoons of butter (or coconut spread will also work well – vegan option) to hot turnips and mash in salt and pepper to taste and serve. or   Leave in chucks, add butter, favorite spread and chopped herbs such as parsley, rosemary or thyme. Then add salt and pepper to taste. Milk: Peel and cut into chucks and place in a pot big enough to cover them with milk.  For a different twist, add either a sprig of fresh rosemary or thyme to the milk while the turnips are simmering.  Since I don’t drink milk, I use Almond Milk and the turnips taste wonderful.  Simmer  drain well, discard the herb and reserve some of the cooking milk.       In a bowl, add a few tablespoons of butter (or coconut spread – vegan option) to the hot turnips and a little of the reserved milk and mash.  Don’t add too much milk so that the consistency of the turnips will be smooth and not runny. Add salt and pepper to taste while stirring in some newly chopped herbs used in the cooking and serve. Dressed Up Boil Method: This is my all-time favorite recipe from “The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas: The History of the Season’s Traditions, with Recipes for the Feast” by Jeff Smith (copyright 1991). Mashed Rutabaga, Turnip, and Potato 1 ¾ pounds rutabaga, peeled and quartered 1 ½ pounds turnips, peeled and quartered 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and quartered ¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted ½ cup whipping cream Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste The vegetables can be peeled ahead of time if you keep them in separate containers covered with water and Fruit-Fresh to prevent browning.  Drain before cooking.  Place the drained rutabaga in a 6-quart pot with ample fresh water and a pinch of salt.  Boil 15 minutes.  Add the turnips and potatoes and boil an additional 15 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.  Drain well.  Mash the vegetables with the remaining ingredients.  They can also be pureed in several batches in a good food processor.     Roasted Method:         Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut turnips into chunks and put in a bowl.  Drizzle olive oil over the chunks and season with your favorite herbs such as rosemary, thyme or your favorite herb blend.  Salt and pepper and pour onto a cookie sheet.  Place in pre-heated oven and roast for 5 – 8 minutes.  Remove cookie sheet and stir turnips and place back in oven for another 5 – 8 minutes and stir again.  Total cooking time should be 20 minutes but will vary depending on the size of the chucks. Baking Method: The final cooking option is baking and there are some great recipes online such as Turnips Au Gratin that can be found by searching your favorite cooking site.