Swede for Christmas meal?

Luckygirl3

We had a German visitor who was horrified when I served mashed swede .... cattle food as far as ge was concerned.

My mother used to say those white turnips were sheep's feed and kale was cattle feed. 😁

MartavTaurus

You forgot the sprouts and red cabbage Sago!
13

And.....the bread sauce.

The best Swede I think is a Scottish swede if you can get it.

Mashed with Butter, sea salt black pepper and nutmeg. Delicious.

Whitewavemark2

The best Swede I think is a Scottish swede if you can get it.

Mashed with Butter, sea salt black pepper and nutmeg. Delicious.

What is the difference between a Scottish Swede and one grown in England or Wales?

Genuine question! Is it the soil, the colder weather?

A Scottish Swede is what we in Scotland know as a turnip or neep. Bashed neeps and tatties bring the traditional accompaniment to haggis.

I know what a swede is although down in Devon they call them turnips, which confused me when I moved there.

The orange one - but I wondered what was the difference between a Scottish orange swede (neeps) and English or Welsh orange swede?

Is it the taste? Different nutrients in the soil?

Confused 😁

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202512/medium-99yshq-images-2.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202512/medium-ezabue-turnip-2622027.jpg

Swedes and turnips

Allira

Whitewavemark2

The best Swede I think is a Scottish swede if you can get it.

Mashed with Butter, sea salt black pepper and nutmeg. Delicious.

What is the difference between a Scottish Swede and one grown in England or Wales?

Genuine question! Is it the soil, the colder weather?

I’ve no idea , but they always have a much better depth of flavour I think - so could b3 the weather or soil or both.

Also OP, there is what looks like very nice “Christmas Day soup” using Swede in the Guardian.

I’ll post the recipe if you would like it.

I am Cornish so it is a turnip to me.

But I using the English name for the yellow turnip to distinguish the two.

I am Cornish so it is a turnip to me. 😲

The first time I heard a swede called a turnip was in Plymouth market.

The other thing is that occasionally I get a Swede that however long you cook it it never gets tender and stays fibrous and hard. I have never had that happen to a Scottish Swede.

Sago It's not the number of items on the plate that denotes gluttony, it's the amount of food. Why not have 5 or 6 different vegetables if that's what you like and the portions are small? One good slice of turkey and a couple of pigs in blankets is no more gluttonous than 2 or 3 larger slices of meat. We like a lot of variety and not everyone likes all the vegetables, so people choose the portion size of the ones they like. I never serve cauliflower cheese or Yorkshire puddings with the Christmas meal as nobody would want them.

I have mashed swede with carrot quite often as I need a soft diet. I love it with pepper and a little butter. I agree about piled plates Shysal, I find it off putting.

The next best is a Swede grown in the red soil around south Devon.

Today I’m doing a pre-Christmas meal for my sister and apart from the game birds we are having carrots and parsnips caramelised in honey, butter and orange and shredded sprouts fried in bacon fat and butter, flash roasted and served with lardons and chestnuts. That is all. Well - potatoes as well. I was going to do duchess potatoes but I can’t be bothered with the faff, so. It is just roast potatoes.

That true, WW2. Mashed Devon swede with lots of butter and pepper.
I'm not cooking this Christmas, my d.i.l.is, she's a wonderful cook, so I don't know if she will do swede mash, but I will certainly enjoy whatever she gives me.
Yes, I agree about too much food on plates these days, it's off-putting.

Sago

If you were to go full on then a plate of food on the big day could comprise of;

Turkey, roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, peas, cauliflower cheese, stuffing, pigs in blankets, bread sauce, gravy and Yorkshire puddings.

This is 11 items!

It’s sheer gluttony.

We don’t have cauliflower cheese or Yorkshire puddings, we save either the pigs in blankets or the stuffing to have on Boxing Day.

It’s a Sunday roast not a last supper.

I want to spend Christmas Day with my grandchildren so I'm not prepared to spend all day cooking a huge meal these days, and the men in my family really are big eaters.

So I've booked the carvery at a local pub for Boxing Day and they can eat their fill there!
(It's a third of the cost for the same meal on Christmas Day).

Whitewavemark2

The next best is a Swede grown in the red soil around south Devon.

I was just about to say the best swedes I've had were grown in the lovely red soil of south Devon. I wouldn't know if I've had a Scottish swede as it doesn't usually state the country of origin when they're loose in the supermarket.

My German son in law doesn’t like sprouts, carrots or parsnips (!) so I do swede which everybody likes plus a few extra peas just for him so that means five vegetables. No wonder we are going to a hotel this year. He does like red cabbage but I draw the line at that!

I often used to serve swede as one of the many veg with the Christmas dinner for the elderly relatives and a couple of their friends.

There was always plenty leftovers for a fry up on Boxing day. Some of the relatives used to take some leftover meat, veg and gravy home with them to make their own fry ups on Boxing day. No gluttony, just lots of choice.

Farmor15

We'll be having 3 Swedes for Christmas dinner- son's partner and their 2 children

🤣🤣

Never had cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire puddings or swede with Christmas dinner ever. To be honest I couldn't eat all that with meat etc. We do have pigs in blankets. Don't have red cabbage either.

We always have mashed swede and carrots on Christmas Day, courtesy of M and S.

RosieandherMaw

Whatever veg you feel like!
I favour red cabbage done to my family East Prussian recipe, but some like “bashed neeps” - and why not.
A dash of orange juice along with butter (not milk) at the mashing stage is good.

It’s the only time we eat red cabbage even though I love it. I also think it adds a nice splash of colour to the meal.

I just got a ginormous swede in Lidl for 5p and 2 bags of sprouts. I've already done and frozen a carrot and swede mash ready for Christmas eve and day when family are coming over. I often put swede into soups, I love it! I noted Iceland are doing frozen carrot and swede cubes. It's rather farty but am sure it's nutritious.

Many many years ago my MIL didn’t do mashed potatoes for the Christmas dinner. I missed it so much that I have had to have mash every year since. I especially love it the following day with brown sauce. I’m not bothered about roast potatoes but I love me mash.