When I was a kid we had a big garden that produced lots of food, including turnips. Those turnips had a zesty, pungent flavor that I loved.

Most store-bought turnips lack that pungency, but one that I cooked yesterday had it in spades. It was sooo good! I’m going back to that store today, hoping to get another like it.

I don’t peel my turnips. I just rinse them, cut off the root and a bit of the top. Then I dice them up and steam to tenderness. After they’re cooked I put in seasoning that I like, and eat.

Yeah, turnips are under appreciated vegetables! Turnip greens are good too, but I like collard greens even better.

BTW – turnips are a cruciferous vegetable, related to broccoli and Brussels sprouts.

I love turnips! Part of our Thanksgiving dinner growing up and I still cook them and mash them with butter, salt and pepper. When I make a beef stew, they always go in.

Gross..

Damn, when I first glanced at the thread title I thought it said "Trump – an under appreciated vegetable". I should probably not try to read these things before I'm fully awake.

Growing up we always grew purple top turnips. Delicious !

My Dad would pull one from the ground, peel it, leave just enough of thee top for a hand hold and hand it to me. You eat it like it was an ice cream cone. A wonderful memory.

Lately I've been roasting rutabagas. A stronger but similar vegetable.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
Damn, when I first glanced at the thread title I thought it said "Trump – an under appreciated vegetable". ...

Same! I got to the end and wondered where the comparison to Trump was, then I saw your response and went back and looked at the title, and Mandela had changed it.

The German people, during the "Turnip Winter" of 1916-1917, didn't appreciate them much. However, they were actually Swedish turnips, a.k.a., rutabagas.

"For the duration of World War I, Germany was constantly under threat of starvation due to the success of the Allied blockade of Germany. Whatever meagre rations remained were sent to the troops fighting the war, so the civilian population faced the brunt of the famine. The winter of 1916–1917, later known as the "Turnip Winter", marked one of the harshest years in wartime Germany. Poor autumn weather led to an equally poor potato harvest and much of the produce, that was normally shipped to German cities instead rotted in the fields. Germany's massive military recruitment played a direct role in this, as all areas of the economy suffered from lack of manpower, including agriculture. The loss of the potato crop forced the German population to subsist on Swedish turnip or rutabaga as an alternative."

Link

quote:

Originally posted by 9x18:
<snip>
Lately I've been roasting rutabagas. A stronger but similar vegetable.

“The rutabaga is an often overlooked, but sweet and nutrient-packed, root vegetable. Originating sometime in the 17th century, it's a hybrid between a turnip and a wild cabbage. In fact, a rutabaga kind of looks like a giant, ugly turnip. Many people confuse the two vegetables, but there are some key differences. …”
https://www.allrecipes.com/art.../what-is-a-rutabaga/

Because of that sweetness I prefer turnips. I just don’t have a sweet tooth.

Check out Chino Family Farm, Chino Farm, Del Mar/ Rancho Sante Fe.

Best corn I’ve ever eaten, for example. All their produce is fantastic. Same family since 1940’s.

It’s just a hop skip and jump for you, I think.

Every time I’m in Sandy Eggo we go to Chinos and load up. Been going there since 1988 whenever I visit.

Call 1st, their food varies from season to season.

LINK
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A fav growing up was sliced turnips anointed with a pat of butter and some salt and pepper, placed in tightly sealed aluminum foil and "steamed" on the outdoor grill. Yum. tasty!

You gotta roast root veg like these with lots of salt and pepper and fresh herbs, with olive oil or butter and they are good. Just boiling the piss out of them doesn't cut it anymore.

My MIL is big on rutabagas which are in the turnip family I think.

Love turnips. A staple in the garden. Usually get 2 or 3 harvests. On the grill painted with Ital dressing. Yum!

Mmmm turnip kimchee

Parsnips are also overlooked and under appreciated. We grow some every year they add nicely into a pot roast or soup.

Turnips and Rutabaga are often found in a traditional Yooper food: Pasties.
I prefer mine without.

No.
Parsnips are ok, but I remember sitting at the family during mealtime prep with male relatives putting their whole body into cutting up rutebegas. Uh uh. Turnips same, but again, might just need a different twist on the prep and flavorings.

I prefer turnip greens to collard greens; and love turnip roots in greens and also homemade veggie soup. A nice zing to the mix.

When I was a kid,

I helped plant turnips as a kid
I helped pick the turnip greens, as a kid
I helped cook the turnip greens, as a kid
I helped eat the turnip greens, as a kid

But as a man, I have put away the bad habits of a misguided child and remain true to my solemn pledge:

"I ain't never again gonna eat them bitter green weeds as long as the
sun rises in the east and I dang sure ain't gonna eat what growed beneath them." (With sincere apologies to my grandma who told me that eating them would help make a man out of me!)

Always loved turnips. I haven't had them in a long time but always liked to mix the greens with the turnip itself when we had them. Sometimes we were lucky enough to have both turnip and collard greens for Thanksgiving.

Turnips and brussel sprouts are the only 2 vegetables I hate.