Vegetables · Root vegetables
Turnip
Round white root with a purple top and peppery flesh, cooked in stews, curries and pickles.
Also called: shalgam
Photo: thebittenword.com, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-2.0)
What it is
Turnips are round roots, white below and purple where they meet the light, with crisp white flesh. Small young turnips are sweet and tender; large ones are stronger and more fibrous. Swede (rutabaga) is a different, larger yellow-fleshed root, although the names are sometimes mixed up.
Brassica rapa (Rapifera group)
How it’s used
- Simmered in stews, soups and pot-au-feu
- Cooked into shalgam curry and pickles
- Roasted or mashed
- Pickled pink in Middle Eastern torshi/kabees
Characteristics
- Taste
- Peppery and slightly bitter; sweeter when small.
- Texture
- Crisp raw; tender and juicy cooked.
- When cooked
- Softens quickly; absorbs braising liquids well.
- Sold as
- fresh
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked, Usually eaten raw, Suitable for boiling
Storage
Refrigerated. Remove greens, then refrigerate roots in a bag; use while firm.
Diet, allergens and safety
No major allergens in typical versions.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 28 kcal
- Protein
- 0.9 g
- Carbohydrate
- 6.43 g
- Fat
- 0.1 g
- Fibre
- 1.8 g
- Sugars
- 3.8 g
USDA FoodData Central: Turnips, raw.
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
Related ingredients
Recipes with turnip
Brun lapskaus
Norwegian · 2 h 5 min · 320 kcalCornish pasty
British · 2 h 5 min · 808 kcal
Couscous with seven vegetables
Moroccan · 2 h 10 min · 761 kcal
Kjötsúpa
Icelandic · 2 h · 427 kcal
Ladakhi thukpa
Indian · 1 h 35 min · 381 kcalRechta
Algerian · 2 h 45 min · 763 kcal
Scotch broth
British · 2 h 20 min · 324 kcalSkyu
Indian · 1 h 20 min · 298 kcal · VeganSoup joumou
Haitian · 3 h 30 min · 281 kcal
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