How To Cook Turnips: {Plus Tips}

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Turnips are simple to prepare for the dinner table and with a few quick tips, you can turn these strong flavored vegetables into something the whole family will look forward to (yes, it’s true!). Here’s a quick and easy way to make them (with tips listed at the bottom).

Basket Of Fresh Turnips At The Market

Preparation:

• Remove tops and ends then wash and scrub thoroughly.
• If they are very young, scrape as for young carrots; when larger, pare thinly.
• For cooking: they may be shredded, sliced thinly, or diced. Small ones may be cooked whole then hollowed to form cups or shells, then stuffed and baked.

Directions For Cooking:

• Being one of the strong-flavored vegetables, these are cooked in a very large quantity of boiling salted water, uncovered, but still cooked just until tender.
• When cooking old ones the flavor and odor will be stronger, place a piece of stale bread on top surface of water to absorb strong odor.
• Cooking time varies with age of turnips as well as the size of pieces they have been cut, Time: from 15 to 50 minutes. For example: young ones, diced fine, will require only 15 minutes; old ones sliced, will require about 50 minutes.
• Drain them then mash or leave in tender pieces. Add butter or bacon drippings, salt and pepper then serve.

Tips

• Each pound will typically yield 3 generous servings.
• Cook until just tender, overcooking gives less than tasty results.
• Add a teaspoonful of sugar to the water to add flavor, this lessens the cooking odor too. Source: 25 Vintage Cooking Tips: Timeless Wisdom.
• For a nice flavor twist that will temper their strong flavor, peel and cut an apple in wedges then toss in the pot of boiling water along with a teaspoon of sugar and the turnips (1 large apple per 2 pounds of turnips).
• For a more delicate flavor, always choose young, tender ones. For a stronger, more pronounced flavor, choose older ones.
• They should be never be split, but sliced in rings. Cut across the fiber and they will cook more quickly and be more tender. Source: Cooking Tips {Vegetables} Timeless Wisdom Collection.
• Though they don’t take well to combining with most other vegetables, very young and tender ones may be served raw, in salads. Served this way, its food value is particularly good. To prep for salads: shred fine.
• When wishing to include in homemade relish, cut them in toothpick-size pieces (when raw and freshly cleaned).
• This vegetable is actually about 90% water and its pronounced flavor is due to the presence of a certain essential oil in the vegetable, which grows stronger as it becomes larger and older.
• After cooking until just tender, try mashing them then mix with applesauce and bacon bits. Bake in a casserole until hot then serve, this dish is something to remember! (about a 4:1 ratio–turnips:applesauce)

Source: Vegetable Cook Book, McFayden Seed Co. Ltd. (1948)