MN made me buy a turnip today

[RealHousewivesOfTaunton]

I read on here that the UK's last turnip farmer hads given up because no one's buying his turnips. I felt so bad for him that I put one in my online shop today. I mashed it in with potatoes for sausages and mash this evening and it was rather nice. I've had them roasted before and they were also good so I hope he decides to keep going.

Anyone else buy something random because they felt sorry for someone/saw it on Mumsnet?

Buttery, black peppery mashed yellow turnip with a roast dinner is the best thing in the world.

HAGGIS

That is all.

And Rutabaga, also a swede.
That was a tricky Strands. I got the main answer first.

Anyway, are swedes Swedish turnips? And turnips just turnips?

Yes! I’m Irish and DH and I constantly disagree about this. To me turnip is yellow. Love it mashed with lots of butter and black pepper.

Anyway, are swedes Swedish turnips? And turnips just turnips?

Yes to the first question and white turnips to the second.

Thats a swede

Thanks OP. This thread gives me hope for the future of mankind (and turnips).

And swedes.

I had to cheat that day and Google American root vegetables. I'd never heard of jicama or rota-the other one.

Rutabaga is the French word for swede. They feed them to cows.

@EveryKneeShallBow I have to disappoint you by letting you know that Jicama is not as exotic as it sounds! It’s a super mild flavour - no flavour at all really. It’s usually eaten raw and is used more for texture than anything else. It’s kind of got the texture of a very firm pear. It really needs flavour from other things - it’s nice topped with tajin or in a salad, but like I say - more for its texture than taste.

Prefer Swede if I'm honest as they're sweeter and not as tough. DH grows turnips so I dutifully cook & eat them but they are more fibrous & bitter.
I'm south east England and would describe a turnip as a small white/purple veg about size of an apple. A swede is a larger (grapefruit size) orange/brown veg.

According to Sainsbury's (Corey Mill, which is just north of the M25), a turnip is the white and purple one and a Swede is the orangey-brown one.

Turnip soup sounds revolting but I'd love to be proved wrong so please link if you've got a recipe

The larger turnip/Swede like veg we feed to livestock in this country we call Fodder beet.

The Literature also indicates that a turnip is the white and purple one.

Maybe that's why I couldn't find turnips in the supermarket last autumn/winter. I love them in stews, haven't tried them any other way, so will have to try, if I find them.

I love mashed swede, it's my favourite veg. King of the turnip type veg!

For me - turnip = small white thing, swede = big yellow thing.

Nooo! That's so sad! I don't want to live in a stupid country where people stop producing different types of food because morons just want to eat chicken nuggets and beige food all the time!

I love turnips!

I buy swedes most weeks but have added a turnip this week for the turnip farmer.

White turnips are beautiful; par boiled and then fried in butter, sugar and a little vinegar to caramelise them. Lots of black pepper. Especially baby sized ones.

And The Enormous Turnip is one of my favourite children's stories!

Maybe it's because I've had a rough day, but I'm genuinely tearing up over nice MNers adding a random turnip to their baskets in solidarity with the sad farmer. What a cuddly bunch of vipers.

I just went to my Tesco online shop to add some but only swede came up! Will have to try elsewhere!

Apparently they taste completely different depending on the time of year. The winter-early spring ones are bitter, late-spring ones are like radish (I think that's what I enjoyed roasted) and summer ones are a less-sweet swede taste.

That sounds a bit like a mooli

Apparently turnip lanterns pre-date the pumpkin type. I'm torn between thinking a line of little white turnip ghost-lanterns would be fun for Halloween and wondering whether the sad turnip farmer would consider it sacrilege.

And while we are talking root vegetables I will take any excuse to mention mangle wurzels