Turnips

I got a free bag of turnip seeds with a purchase from one of the seed vendors, and decided to give them a try.
The only experience I had with them was that my Nana used to make them with mashed potatoes. ( I wasn't all that impressed by them as a kid)
Anyway, they are growing so fast I can hardly control them and I am seeing golf ball sized turnips already.
I pulled one up and ate it raw from the garden leaves and all.
Quite tasty actually. Reminded me of a radish.
So what are some good ways to prepare them?
My kids don't know what they are and are suspicious.

I find turnips (and rutabagas) are sweetened somewhat with ample butter, with or without potatoes to calm it down.  Imho you have to first appreciate the earthy flavor.  The only way I have eaten them is boiled.  I love them.

The just over gold ball sized one are a welcome change in a salad when scrubbed and very thinly sliced immediately prior to eating the salad .
 A couple finely diced & dropped in a meat stew with other veg is Ok but don't go over board for it tends to make the stew taste bitter
 you can blanch and freeze them then seal in a heat sealed vac pack bag .they'll keep for a good six months if unopened ..use these in cooking projects , don't try to eat thawed ones without having them cooked .

 One or two are not so bad julienned in a stir fry  again  too many make the stir fry veg bitter
 

 Part frying some ( as single veg ) along with other types of veg and bring them to a boil then simmer for 10 min and give a quick short whizz are one way of making a chicken or beef stock turn into a soup .

If you want a bit of a crunch in the soup instead of frying all the veg   leave some different root veg to one side so that after the liquidizing and simmer has taken place you grate them and add to the soup then bring it to the boil again , simmer for about 3 min once on the boil  .
serve with crispy , crunchy rolls or baguettes & a scrape of butter ( dip the bread in the soup )

 If you want the soup a bit better add 1/2 a pint of milk or skimmed milk with a teaspoon of butter,  stir this in just before the first simmer

All good suggestions.
Thanks!
The turnips days are numbered.

I'm old school Southerner. Turnip tops and chunks of root boiled with bacon drippings or ham hock. Always served with pork, never beef.

Kay

Why never beef?

I took a page from plantoid's book and put some in a salad tonight. Or a slaw, really. I shredded one a bit bigger than a golf ball with my cheese grater, adding roughly equal parts shredded cucumber and carrot. Actually more cucumber than either carrot or turnip. Anyway it was a nice crispy and refreshing accompaniment to some poached fish. No bitterness at all.

mmmmmmmmm....sounds zesty!

Marc Iverson wrote:Why never beef?

I took a page from plantoid's book and put some in a salad tonight.  Or a slaw, really.  I shredded one a bit bigger than a golf ball  with my cheese grater, adding roughly equal parts shredded cucumber and carrot.  Actually more cucumber than either carrot or turnip.  Anyway it was a nice crispy and refreshing accompaniment to some poached fish.  No bitterness at all.

 The bigger ones do tend to lend themselves to giving a bitter taste , usually when over 2.25 inches across

 ANSFG grown ones that have plenty of water are much better for the cell structure is more open and water filled than those grown in mother earth and watered occasionally by rain .

 It is important to go from grate to plate without letting them hang around with open flesh so to speak  to oxidize .
I think the oxidization process is what makes for the bitter taste .

I suppose you could try grating a couple and putting them submerged in clean chilled water and put them covered over  in the fridge for a day or so to see if pre prepared ones keep .

 Fancy being the human guinea pig Marc & reporting back on this thread ?

My Mother always cooked turnip in her beef stew along with the potatoes. Everyone seemed to love it.  Since I never liked turnip, I would pick them out each time, but I was born a fussy eater.

Marc Iverson wrote:Why never beef?

.

Who knows. Tradition I guess.

Kay

[quote="plantoid"]

Marc Iverson wrote:
 It is important to go from grate to plate without letting them hang around with open flesh so to speak  to oxidize .
I think the oxidization process is what makes for the bitter taste .

I suppose you could try grating a couple and putting them submerged in clean chilled water and put them covered over  in the fridge for a day or so to see if pre prepared ones keep .

 Fancy being the human guinea pig Marc & reporting back on this thread ?

Maybe with a slice, but not with a couple of whole turnip's worth! Whaddaya think, I'm made of turnips here?

marc wrote:Whaddaya think, I'm made of turnips here?

  
My mother used to make turnips and mash them together with carrots and I recall hating the whole lot. BEEN years since I tried any of them, but now that I am stepping out....bein a gardener and all. So recently my sister made a dish that she took cubed squash pieces, cubed turnip pieces, cubed parsnip pieces all mixed with a greek spice medley and then roasted in the oven. 
SOME Of the cubes were totally delicious..........    but after it was all cooked we could not tell which was which....  SO I am not sure if I LOVE roasted parsnips, or roasted turnips.  Will have to wait a year until I grow my own

Roasted parsnips are outstanding. They're sweet but also have a sort of dimension to their sweetness. If I had to guess what the average person would immediately like from that motley batch you tried, parsnip would be first on my list. I've become a big fan!

we are trying again to sow and grow turnips, parsnips and rutabagas

tried last year and they didn't do well......all leaves with no bulbs/roots

we really want this staple food for over winter for us and our new chickens

don't know if we will like the taste, but we love stew so it should fit right in

happy gardening
rose

Chickens like turnips?
Or do turnips just go well with chicken?    
(Just kidding of course)

Turnips are really a winter crop, forgot I think there's some out in the garden. They are fairly sweet after a good freeze. I cook the tops with some sort of salt pork, like I do for collards or spinach. I only eat the bulbs raw, don't care for them cooked.
For you folks that don't ever get any cold weather, take the whole plant and put in the freezer for an hour. This should remove most of the bitterness.
I've never tried them for the chickens, will have to try it. Will the eggs taste like turnips?
Jo

 we have been trying to think of veggies that will grow over winter...I figure the chickens may like to eat the tops, and we would use the bulbs in a stew....

hugs
rose....... who is glad to know turnips will get sweeter after a frost

Marc Iverson wrote:Roasted parsnips are outstanding.  They're sweet but also have a sort of dimension to their sweetness.  If I had to guess what the average person would immediately like from that motley batch you tried, parsnip would be first on my list.  I've become a big fan!

They are very very fattening when roast and basted in oil or fat.

OK, I just also planted Tokyo Cross turnips, supposed to be very tender and yummy! I grew up with my dad cutting up a turnip, salt, and yum! sometimes he made a Sammy? Yeah. He was from the Great Depression, we also had Onion Sandwiches, still have egg sandwiches..sandwich seem to be a theme