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Original poster

Anyone else never tried turnip?

86 replies

ifonly4 · 26/02/2023 16:57

DH and myself got talking earlier about the shortage of some vegetables and our preferences. I eat most thing these days, but tendency for me is to revert to all the foods I loved as a fussy child - salad, fruit, cheese and dried bread - so I comfortably confessed to DH I'd never tried turnip. DH admitted he hasn't as well. Anyone else?

If you've tried, what are they like?

Looking at Tescos online, there aren't any to purchase, not even out of stock.

OP posts:
HolyZarquonsSingingSeals · 26/02/2023 17:56

I have eaten turnip and swede, both of which were unutterably disgusting. Parsnips are just about tolerable roasted with honey.

Purplecatshopaholic · 26/02/2023 17:59

HolyZarquonsSingingSeals · 26/02/2023 17:56

I have eaten turnip and swede, both of which were unutterably disgusting. Parsnips are just about tolerable roasted with honey.

Totally this. Turnip is horrible - doesn’t matter what you do with it, lol. And I’m Scottish (we’re supposed to eat it every year on Burns Night - err, nope).

Darklane · 26/02/2023 18:03

Hot Pot wouldn’t be the same without accompanying mashed carrot & turnip ( the big ones) & pickled red cabbage & pickled beetroot.

PotKettel · 26/02/2023 18:07

I love swede. I slice it and coat it in rosemary and olive oil and roast it in the air fryer. We eat it to make a change from potato. I like it with a heavy stew or gravy-based meal, with a side of winter greens. Absolutely fab.

I also put it in tray bakes of root veg and occasionally in casseroles.

I’m also a big fan of celeriac and parsnips.

alpenguin · 26/02/2023 18:07

Soup isn’t soup without a bit of neep

catfunk · 26/02/2023 18:35

EVHead · 26/02/2023 17:02

I get confused about whether people mean turnip or swede. Living in Scotland I’d never heard of swede - there was “turnip” and “white turnip”. The former is orange and was used for Halloween lanterns before pumpkins were available.

Love swede, hate turnip. 😄

Same, I grew up in NE and have realised that what we called turnip was actually swede

FictionalCharacter · 26/02/2023 18:38

I don’t like them at all, but I do like swede.

Darklane · 26/02/2023 18:38

Same in NW, I’d never heard of a swede growing up.

Oakbeam · 26/02/2023 23:33

Same, I grew up in NE and have realised that what we called turnip was actually swede

It’s a Swedish Turnip.

Brazilagogo · 26/02/2023 23:42

The Great Turnip debate rages in our house regularly. Being Scottish and a child of the 70’s, my decisive arguments are:

Burns Night is defined by Haggis and Neeps - the yellow ones
Nobody who ever carved a Turnip Lantern at Halloween did so with the white ones

Turnips are yellow!

snowqu33n · 26/02/2023 23:56

Fun fact: a Swede (neep) is called a rutabaga in the USA

bellsbuss · 27/02/2023 00:09

I didn't think of had it but going by the photos I have as I've mistaken a turnip for swede

DahliaMacNamara · 27/02/2023 00:14

I love mashed swede. Turnips are pale and flavourless, which is why no bugger eats them.

dollypartin · 27/02/2023 00:32

Cherish them 💕💕

mawbroon · 27/02/2023 00:45

Swede/neep/the big yellow one.

I've seen a thing on tiktok where people have microwaved them whole. Absolute game changer! Stab the skin a few times and microwave for 10 to 15mins, depending on the size. The flesh just scoops out. No chopping or boiling. And it tastes much sweeter than boiled, presumably because none of it is lost to the boiling water.

I was skeptical but I'm never going to peel another neep ever again!

Ireallydohope · 27/02/2023 01:57

Tried it once and it tastes of nothing so a pointless vegetable imho

MintJulia · 27/02/2023 02:03

Antonio Carluccio lists a recipe for baby turnips, simmered gently in chicken stock and herbs, But they have to be about golf-ball sized. I grew some one year and he's right. Baby turnips, cooked like that are really good.

If they get any bigger, they develop a slightly metallic taste, and not so nice.

BestIsWest · 27/02/2023 02:07

We have ponch - Swede mashed with potatoes with sausages and onion gravy. It’s lovely.

icefishing · 27/02/2023 02:30

I don't like the small turnip but do like Swedes.

greenspaces4peace · 27/02/2023 02:34

oh my add in my rutabaga! which i gather is my north american version of a swede.
turnips are the bigger yellower version.
turnips are nice in stews, fine mashed with potato or carrots.
i've certainly grown up with them in my parents household in the 60's.

custardbear · 27/02/2023 02:44

Didn't enjoy turnip but swede is lovely

TessoftheDubonnet · 27/02/2023 02:45

A curry of root vegetables is delicious.
Turnips, parsnips, swede, carrots, sweet potatoes.
Butternut squash as well...
Especially if you add half a tin of coconut cream.
Or ground almonds and a glug of cream.

GrumpyPanda · 27/02/2023 05:25

WiltingLobelia · 26/02/2023 17:44

I love turnips but have just realised I have only ever had them mashed with potato and/or sweet potato as a mix or as a chopped up mix for vegetable soup. With beans and chicken and a stock cube. Mmmm.

Might try them this week as a roasted veg on their own.

(Mind you, this week I bought salsify thinking 'wtf!!'. It looks like Harry Potter's wand. Still have not cooked it, mind).

Be very careful with the salsify if you haven't eaten it before. It's delicious, especially if sautéed with a little bit of cream. But best to start with smaller amounts of it since UT can make you incredibly, er, gassy. Happened to me and I eat lots of beans all the time without problems, so rather unexpected. Apparently due to their high content of inuline, which is supposedly very healthy and also contained in topinambur..

Tessisme · 27/02/2023 06:07

Nobody who ever carved a Turnip Lantern at Halloween did so with the white ones

Ha! Yes indeed. The big yellow swedes are called turnips in NI too and we certainly didn't carve our turnip lanterns out of those skittery wee white things😃

I love turnip. It's my favourite vegetable and I eat it plain with potatoes and something-or-other (brought up on meat and two veg!) or in a casserole or spicy curry type dish.

nancyglancy · 27/02/2023 06:15

I love a turnip. Scottish, so to me it's the big orange one, aka a neep! I look forward to my haggis, neeps, and tatties on Burns night. Also nice marked on top odd a cottage pie. Or for veggies, this is very tasty. amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/05/anna-joness-swede-recipes