Turnip

Name: Turnip (Brassica rapa subsp. rapa) — a round, white root with a purple-tinged top, with firm, crisp flesh and a mildly peppery, slightly sweet flavour. A separate Root Vegetables page covers it as a root, and turnip greens are on the Leafy Green page.

Description

Turnips have been cultivated since prehistoric times in Europe and Asia, and were a staple food for ancient Greeks and Romans, and for poor communities in medieval Europe. Before the potato arrived, the turnip was a vital winter crop, and it also fed livestock. In Britain, the Halloween lantern was once carved from turnips, before pumpkins replaced them.

Small, young turnips are sweet and tender enough to eat raw, while larger ones are stronger and more fibrous, and are best cooked. Both the root and the leafy tops can be eaten.

Main nutrition value

Turnips provide vitamin C, fibre, potassium and folate, and the greens provide vitamin K, vitamin A and calcium, for few calories.

How best to be consumed

Turnips are best young and small, raw or cooked.

1. Slice thinly raw into salads, or pickle them, as in Middle Eastern pink pickled turnips.
2. Roast or glaze with butter and honey until golden.
3. Mash with potatoes, or add to soups, stews and curries.
4. Cook the greens like spinach or kale.
5. Peel larger turnips, which have a tougher skin.

Overconsumption could cause…

Turnips are safe and healthy in food amounts.

1. Bloating and gas, since cruciferous vegetables contain raffinose and other fermentable carbohydrates.
2. Possible effects on thyroid function in people with an underactive thyroid or iodine deficiency if very large amounts are eaten raw, since brassicas contain goitrogens; normal cooked servings are fine.
3. A bitter, strong flavour in large, old turnips.
4. A lot of salt if eaten mostly as pickled turnips.

GroupsCruciferous VegetablesRoot VegetablesCruciferous (cabbage family)Low fatLow sodiumRich in vitamin CFresh

Related foodsKohlrabiRadishDaikon / White RadishBlack RadishHorseradishRutabaga / Swede

Wikipedia — Turnip, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnip