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Turnip, anyone? 😋

(99 Posts)
FannyCornforth Fri 24-Feb-23 12:39:14

Hello smile
Health Minister Therese Coffey reckons that we should ‘cherish’ the doughty turnip.
Have you ever done anything interesting with one?
As an aside, I’ve just been looking into what vegetables are native here in the UK.
It’s hardly anything. I’m amazed we survived.
It made me think of Terry Jones’ filth-loving peasant in The Holy Grail

sodapop Fri 24-Feb-23 14:01:13

I thought turnip and swede are two different things, white turnip and orange swede.

FannyCornforth Fri 24-Feb-23 14:14:02

Me too, Sodapop
And I heard something today that Scottish neeps are what the English call swede.
As in neeps and tatties.
Is this right?
(Apologies in advance for my sassanachcentricity)

Alioop Fri 24-Feb-23 14:14:17

I hate cutting up turnip, it's like getting through a brick and my hands ache. I just buy the bags now that are already chopped up for you. Turnip takes me back to Halloween, when I was a child, when we carved them, not pumpkins like kids do now. It took days to dig it out with screwdrivers, hammers, anything we sneakily borrowed from my dad's shed.

FannyCornforth Fri 24-Feb-23 14:21:01

Celeriac is another piece of work to cut up.
I love celeriac soup, but it’s a chore and a half

Baggs Fri 24-Feb-23 14:38:18

Bashed neeps are great, especially with haggis.

One year some of the Scottish grans had a Burns lunch at Elegran's house. The neeps were cooked whole in the microwave and then their innards scooped out easy-peasy.

Baggs Fri 24-Feb-23 14:39:42

sodapop

I thought turnip and swede are two different things, white turnip and orange swede.

A swede is a Scottish Neep or, equally, a Swedish Turnip. The small white-fleshed turnips are just turnips.

Blondiescot Fri 24-Feb-23 14:41:46

FannyCornforth

Me too, Sodapop
And I heard something today that Scottish neeps are what the English call swede.
As in neeps and tatties.
Is this right?
(Apologies in advance for my sassanachcentricity)

Spot on. Our neeps are swede in England, and what I would call a turnip is the smaller white (or white/purple ones). Neeps are an essential accompaniment to haggis! Thankfully, haggis can be found all year round here in Scotland, running wild on the hills.

Riverwalk Fri 24-Feb-23 14:52:02

At our bookclub the other night the host served haggis with neeps & tatties - presumably they were swedes as I could see flecks of orange in the mash. I drizzled the tot of whisky over the haggis as I heard it was traditional to do so, but no one else did this!

Bea65 Fri 24-Feb-23 14:54:43

UGH hate turnips but Therese Coffey also said in same statement we (WHO) should work more!!

Daddima Fri 24-Feb-23 14:55:45

Alioop

I hate cutting up turnip, it's like getting through a brick and my hands ache. I just buy the bags now that are already chopped up for you. Turnip takes me back to Halloween, when I was a child, when we carved them, not pumpkins like kids do now. It took days to dig it out with screwdrivers, hammers, anything we sneakily borrowed from my dad's shed.

Just put the whole neep into the microwave for about 30 minutes, turn it over and cook for another 20. Cut off the top, scoop out the flesh, and mix it with butter and black pepper.
Viola- bashed neep!

Daddima Fri 24-Feb-23 14:58:37

Daddima

Alioop

I hate cutting up turnip, it's like getting through a brick and my hands ache. I just buy the bags now that are already chopped up for you. Turnip takes me back to Halloween, when I was a child, when we carved them, not pumpkins like kids do now. It took days to dig it out with screwdrivers, hammers, anything we sneakily borrowed from my dad's shed.

Just put the whole neep into the microwave for about 30 minutes, turn it over and cook for another 20. Cut off the top, scoop out the flesh, and mix it with butter and black pepper.
Viola- bashed neep!

Sorry, I’ve just noticed Baggs has already shared this!

25Avalon Fri 24-Feb-23 15:00:00

Back to rumpledethumps which I discovered for Burn’s Night. Very tasty. Potatoes, needs, kale and cheese. Good for you too, and in season.

25Avalon Fri 24-Feb-23 15:00:18

Neeps

FannyCornforth Fri 24-Feb-23 15:05:40

25Avalon

Back to rumpledethumps which I discovered for Burn’s Night. Very tasty. Potatoes, needs, kale and cheese. Good for you too, and in season.

Yes, it’s delicious.
(Sainsbury’s sell it too, but I’m sure that it’s not a patch on yours.)

NotSpaghetti Fri 24-Feb-23 15:39:41

This is super-confusing!
Turnips to me are small and white (or have purple on them) but Swedes are golden.
If Swede is Turnip, ^WHAT is Turnip??

AGAA4 Fri 24-Feb-23 16:02:39

Turnips are small and easier to cut. Swedes are large and very hard to cut.
My Dad used to grow lots of veg in the garden post war. Cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, sprouts, peas and beans. Oh and turnips I think.

Casdon Fri 24-Feb-23 16:10:14

Turnips and tomatoes.

ParlorGames Fri 24-Feb-23 16:15:38

Turnips..........Please define, is that Parsnip or Swede or both?

Ashcombe Fri 24-Feb-23 16:28:03

FannyCornforth

She’s not Health Minister, is she?
I’m not keeping track of who’s who in the Cabinet at all…

Agricultural Minister, apparently.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64745258?fbclid=IwAR3cls-aVZKezYUKBBUYS1Vh6GfU4Dt2LA4GaMGtUMINcq0kDz79Ywp-gsk

Ashcombe Fri 24-Feb-23 16:35:34

Sorry, I’m wrong. She’s Environment Minister.

25Avalon Fri 24-Feb-23 17:17:25

FannyCornforth

25Avalon

Back to rumpledethumps which I discovered for Burn’s Night. Very tasty. Potatoes, needs, kale and cheese. Good for you too, and in season.

Yes, it’s delicious.
(Sainsbury’s sell it too, but I’m sure that it’s not a patch on yours.)

The reviews are very poor for Sainsbury’s so I’ll stick to making my own. Their ingredients look to be good but apparently the end product no longer is.

sodapop Fri 24-Feb-23 17:18:18

ParlorGames parsnip is a completely different vegetable from turnip or swede.
Turnip is small and white, swede is larger and orange unless of course you live in Scotland when the whole question becomes confusing. smile

merlotgran Fri 24-Feb-23 18:51:05

Turnip and swede are both brassicas whereas parsnips are in the apiaceae family like carrots and parsley.

Mamie Fri 24-Feb-23 19:10:26

We grow cima di rapa which are turnip leaves and utterly delicious. We also like the tiny turnips / navets that we get here in France.

Blossoming Fri 24-Feb-23 19:10:54

Daddima

Alioop

I hate cutting up turnip, it's like getting through a brick and my hands ache. I just buy the bags now that are already chopped up for you. Turnip takes me back to Halloween, when I was a child, when we carved them, not pumpkins like kids do now. It took days to dig it out with screwdrivers, hammers, anything we sneakily borrowed from my dad's shed.

Just put the whole neep into the microwave for about 30 minutes, turn it over and cook for another 20. Cut off the top, scoop out the flesh, and mix it with butter and black pepper.
Viola- bashed neep!

Thanks for this tip Daddima, marvellous for those of us with little manual dexterity.