Organic Turnips

GOOD STUFF TO KNOW ABOUT TURNIPS

Although the Turnip and the Rutabaga are practically siblings, here are a couple of differences to ponder. Turnips are spicier, smaller, and not quite as sweet. However, slicing the turnip with a mandolin for chip-thin disks will have quite a different appeal than huge circles of rutabaga as an element of a fresh salad, for instance. Is there a mandolin big enough for the rutabaga? Well, while we deliberate on that, turnips are also high in antioxidants, vitamin C and others, minerals, and dietary fiber. A super-awesome asset of the turnip is that you can eat those leaves! And they’re super-nutritious, even more so than the turnip root itself. Ready? Turnip greens are an amazing source of vitamin A, vitamin C, multiple B-complex vitamins, vitamin K, carotenoid, xanthin, lutein, calcium, copper, iron, and manganese. But human shall not live on turnips alone, OK?

STORAGE TIPS

Remove the turnip greens about a half inch from the root before storing the roots–refrigerate those greens dry in a loosely sealed plastic bag for up to a week. Store the turnips in a loosely sealed plastic bag in the crisper for about a week or two. Or, as The Alton Brown says, put sand in the crisper drawer and store the roots for months. Yes, this does apply to most root veggies. But we didn’t say this before, because there ought to be monumental rewards for reading every recipe page since ARUGULA. Thank you, Dear Reader!

RECIPES

Cooking & Eating Tips

Yes, eat turnips raw. But also sauté, stir fry, grill, roast, boil, steam, and pickle them. Scarlet turnips are by far the most mellow of the turnips and are the best suited for grating onto salads or served with dips on a veggie platter. They have a bright white interior that is really attractive alongside beauty heart radishes and carrots.