The Best Easy Turnip Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What makes turnips taste better? ›

A variety of herbs and spices can be added to the mashed turnips. Try a tablespoon of finely chopped sage or rosemary, a clove or two of roasted or sautéed garlic, or a pinch of paprika or ground ginger. If your turnips came with the greens, don't throw them away.

If you want to try a different cooking method, I tend to like turnip boiled and mashed. If the turnip is old (and likely bitter) you can add an apple. I've also read that you can stir in baking soda after the turnips have boiled to remove the bitterness.

One turnip website from the United Kingdom notes that if you boil them, add a little sugar to tame the scent and add baking soda to reduce bitterness.

Turnips are a healthy alternative to potatoes; they're lower in calories and have fewer carbs. Smaller, sweeter turnips can be sliced into wedges and eaten raw like an apple. Raw baby turnips can be sliced or diced and used in salads. Raw turnips can also be grated and used as a garnish.

It's not essential to peel turnips before cooking. If this skin appears to be thin enough you can leave it on and cook as is. However if the skin feels thick and leathery, you can peel it off with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Both the roots and leaves, also known as turnip greens, are safe to eat.

Rutabagas are also generally much larger than turnips. So for a quick rule of thumb, the brownish-yellowish ones are rutabagas, and the smaller white and purple ones are turnips. In terms of their flavor, rutabagas are slightly sweeter-tasting than turnips whereas turnips have a slightly more radishy flavor.

How do they compare to a potato, nutrition-wise? Turnips have fewer calories than potatoes, with just about 36 calories per cup versus a little over 100 calories per cup of diced potatoes.

Roasting mellows the flavor of turnips and concentrates their texture into a tender, melting vegetable. Serve these easy roasted turnips with other roasted vegetables (the sweetness of carrots is a good complement) alongside roasted meats or with a simple roasted chicken.

Turnips can sometimes taste bitter due to the presence of certain compounds, such as glucosinolates and phenolic compounds. These compounds are natural defense mechanisms that some plants use to deter animals from eating them, as they can be toxic or unpalatable.

Bitter greens are leafy greens or vegetables that have an intense bitter flavor profile. They include kale, mustard greens, collards, turnip greens, broccoli rabe, radicchio, chicory, and endive. The bitterness comes from chemical compounds called glucosinolates that can be found in the Brassica family.

How do you make rutabaga less bitter? ›

How Do You Get the Bitter Taste Out of Rutabagas? If you find that rutabagas are too bitter for you, add up to a tablespoon of sugar to accentuate the sweetness and stir to combine. This will help to counteract the bitterness.

This is a bad practice, however, and you should avoid adding baking soda when boiling any type of vegetable. It has various unwelcome effects, such as softening the vegetable, altering the vegetable's flavor, destroying thiamine content, and hastening the loss of vitamin C.

Yes. Turnips can be frozen in any form: diced and blanched, cooked and mashed, or roasted. Their texture will turn mushy when defrosted, but flavour and nutrients will remain the same.

Small turnips are delicious raw – eat whole or slice thinly. Alternatively, you can steam, roast or braise the roots. Larger turnips are best peeled and steamed, boiled or mashed. Chunks of turnip are often added to casseroles or soups.

Turnips are indeed healthy, boasting an impressive nutritional profile. They are low in calories and packed with essential nutrients like vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Turnips also contain glucosinolates, compounds that have been linked to cancer prevention.

Turnips contain sulfur, giving them a peppery taste that potatoes lack. However, the flavors are so similar that some people replace potatoes with turnips in recipes like casseroles to create healthier meals, per Spend With Pennies.