Do you like Neeps ? (Turnips)

Member Name: mumsymary

Product:	Turnips
Date:	05/02/07 (1200 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap and tasty !

Disadvantages: some people hate them

Turnip
I bought a turnip last week and cooked and ate it yesterday
.
A turnip Brassica Rapa, yes it’s from the cabbage family is a staple fairly cheap root vegetable. This vegetable is good to eat in winter months great to add to a soup or to serve mashed it makes a good mash combined with potatoes. Turnips are also used for feeding animals.
A turnip vegetable is the bottom of the stem and the top of the stalk this swells and grows underground. A long thin tap root comes out of the base of the swollen stem. This is usually cut of before you buy it. The turnip is either a white or slightly yellow coloured vegetable.
The leaves grow in a rosette forming a bunch on the soil surface. These leaves can be eaten like a cabbage. If left to flower the flowers will be yellow.
There are several varieties of turnip some having round root some a longer one some a globe root.

These plants are easy to grow from seeds, my dad always used to grow them and I have occasionally grown them. I am thinking of growing them this year which inspired me to write this review.

Turnip, seeds can be bought from most seeds merchants and garden centres stock them. You could of course buy them on line. http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk/ sell them from between £1.25 and £2.00 and you get 100’s of little seeds for your money.

Sowing
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Turnip seeds can be sown in February in a warm place. March in a cooler place. Sow them monthly till August September and you will get a continuous crop.
Make a shallow drill in your soil and sow the seeds thinly then cover the seed with soil, water them to start germination.
Thin them out if they grow too close or you will only get radish sized turnips.


Harvesting
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Turnips are ready for pulling 6 to 12 weeks days after sowing. The ones from the later sowing can put up with a few frozen days and can be stored for winter use. Keep them in a humid place at between 2 and 4 % c kept a bit warmer and they get woody and sprout.
A turnip likes a fertile soil and good drainage in the dry weather water him so he swells. Baby globe turnips can be harvested when they are little about golf ball size. It is good to let the main crop ones get bigger for using in those winter meals



Use
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If you are a farmer you may grow radish for your animals winter feed cattle and sheep will eat turnips both the leaves and the roots.
Your pet rabbit will love a few turnip leaves too as will your guinea pig and tortoise.

I like turnip too.

Taste
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Difficult to describe taste. A turnip tastes quite strong, that’s why it’s better mashed in with potatoes. Some people do not like it

Nutrition
A turnip root contains lots of water, contains carotene and %5 sugars! Also contains vitamin C. There are 35 cal in 135
The greens contain vit A 22kcal per 100g

Recipes
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Young grated turnip can be used like carrot in a salad.
A way I sometimes use turnip is in a stew, either with beef or lamb.
I put some beef in a saucepan or casserole dish add some chopped onions some peeled potatoes cut up add some chopped carrots and some cut up turnip. Add some herbs sage, parsley, thyme a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Add some water to cover and stew for a couple of hours. If you need to thicken at the end add some gravy thickening. Really I just make a general soup adding all kinds of everything, anything I have to hand. Makes a good winter warmer.

Now neeps and tatties make a grand mash.
Use half as many turnips a potatoes boil until cooked then mash them together. Add some butter and milk. Use this to top a shepherd’s pie or serve with some sausages. You could add chopped chives or onion to this mash and some cheese if you wish; tasty Bacon makes a good addition too.
This extra turnip and potato mash is great fried for a Saturday lunch

The turnip leaves can be boiled and eaten like cabbage. It is in fact a member of the Brassica family after all.


Enjoy your Neeps, everyone ,

Summary: a vegetable of the cabbage family