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Christmas

Swede for Christmas meal?

(132 Posts)
shysal Sat 20-Dec-25 08:48:48

I have seen several mentions on TV of mashed swede. It is not something I have ever considered for the main meal. Has this always been a 'thing'?
It seems we are expected to overfill our plates these days. Call me old fashioned but we never used to have cauliflower cheese or Yorkshire puddings. I love my food and have a healthy appetite, but it makes me feel sick to see the piled up tables and plates on the adverts.

Allira Sat 20-Dec-25 11:30:22

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 😁

RosieandherMaw Sat 20-Dec-25 11:27:14

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

Allira Sat 20-Dec-25 11:25:33

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?

Whitewavemark2 Sat 20-Dec-25 11:20:02

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

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

Aldom Sat 20-Dec-25 11:14:05

MartavTaurus

You forgot the sprouts and red cabbage Sago!
13

And.....the bread sauce.

Allira Sat 20-Dec-25 11:05:56

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. 😁

Allira Sat 20-Dec-25 11:05:16

Grandmabatty

I love mashed turnip (swede) with pepper and butter, however I wouldn't have it on a Christmas dinner.

Ditto.

I used to mash it with carrots, onions, black pepper and butter at Christmas but not now.

Calendargirl Sat 20-Dec-25 11:02:26

I think back to Christmas dinner as we grew up.

Always had a fresh farmyard brace of ducks, a present from a farmer uncle.

Accompanied by mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, sage and onion stuffing inside the ducks, apple sauce, gravy.

Then Christmas pudding with sweet white sauce, as Dad preferred it to custard.

Mum didn’t like vegetables, I don’t think we had anything but the sprouts.

Luckily I love them.

Certainly never had roast potatoes, loads of veg, Yorkshire puddings, bread sauce, cauliflower cheese, Paxo stuffing….

Were we deprived? Perhaps, but it was what we were used to.

Never had turkey.

Elusivebutterfly Sat 20-Dec-25 11:00:25

I like mashed swede, but it is hard to peel and then I can't mash it well enough to get the lumps out. I just serve it boiled, but not with Christmas dinner.

Luckygirl3 Sat 20-Dec-25 10:58:51

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

Esmay Sat 20-Dec-25 10:56:58

I love buttery , peppery mashed swede with my Christmas lunch .

Farmor15 Sat 20-Dec-25 10:44:13

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

MartavTaurus Sat 20-Dec-25 10:36:20

You forgot the sprouts and red cabbage Sago!
13

RosieandherMaw Sat 20-Dec-25 10:36:10

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.

Spinnaker Sat 20-Dec-25 10:35:19

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.

Wot, no mash 😂😂😂😂

Mazgg Sat 20-Dec-25 10:33:53

I love mashed turnip (swede) but find it's not the dark orange colour it used to be other than Sunday lunch in a restaurant a couple of weeks ago .
Those I've bought over the last few years have been more yellow, hard to peel and stringy

Sago Sat 20-Dec-25 09:51:36

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.

Lovemylife Sat 20-Dec-25 09:50:00

I used to have it mashed with black pepper and a little chopped up bacon, but haven’t had it for years.

merlotgran Sat 20-Dec-25 09:49:13

I love three root mash - swede, carrot and parsnip with butter and black pepper but not with Christmas dinner.

BlueBelle Sat 20-Dec-25 09:43:27

I quite like mashed swede but not something I cook often although I do often cook butternut squash yummy
I don’t think there’s any rules about what you can have on your plate for Christmas have what you like

Cabbie21 Sat 20-Dec-25 09:28:14

My husband liked mashed swede, but I wouldn’t bother with it at Christmas.

Grandmadinosaur Sat 20-Dec-25 09:25:37

In our family we’ve never had swede with Christmas lunch. In fact it isn’t a veg we have very often at all. Don’t know why as I do like it.

Jaxjacky Sat 20-Dec-25 09:12:05

We’ve always had mashed swede in my family, not only for Christmas either, as petra said, it’s not obligatory to pile up your plate. We don’t have cauli cheese or yorkshires.

Rosie51 Sat 20-Dec-25 09:09:47

Carrot and swede mash is very popular in my house and always served with the Christmas meal.

petra Sat 20-Dec-25 09:07:40

Just because there is a very varied selection of vegetables you don’t have to pile your plate with them.
You can have a small amount of each. ‘