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Turnips!

(34 Posts)
Witzend Sun 19-Oct-25 12:00:53

Do you use them? It’s increasingly difficult to find them in supermarkets now, but I do like them as part of a multi-veg winter soup, or in a lamb stew/casserole.

I recently brought home a good supply from France. I found plenty in the supermarkets there, but I did hear a while ago that they had been out of favour for decades, largely because during the occupation of WW2, swedes and turnips were some of the few foods left to them by the Germans.

Catterygirl Fri 28-Nov-25 00:11:33

I love turnips. Have some in the fridge and will peel and slice to add to tomato and kibbeh soup. Kibbeh is burghal stuffed with spicy minced meat. Also add parsley and lemon.

Nik1ta Thu 27-Nov-25 23:40:59

Carrot and swede is delicious mashed with some butter, black pepper and nutmeg. Turnips should be left for the cattle!

butterandjam Thu 27-Nov-25 23:16:34

ViceVersa

Depends what type of turnips you're talking about, I guess. Up here in Scotland, there's no shortage of neeps (swedes) but I've also seen the smaller turnips too.

ditto, they're always in the smkt.

I'm not fond of turnips but we often have neeps, mashed with carrots or potatoes. Always with haggis.

Maybe sweet potatoes have ousted swedes in England.

Allira Thu 27-Nov-25 22:29:00

The whisky sauce sounds interesting!

JamesandJon33 Thu 27-Nov-25 19:18:06

Swedes are large, round and orange when cut. Turnips are small and white with perhaps a tuft of small leaves. Parsnips are long and tapered and a cream colour.

nanna8 Thu 27-Nov-25 00:46:20

Not seen any here lately, either. When they do have them they cost an arm and a leg. I think our climate is wrong for them, perhaps. I love them, and parsnips.

Bodach Wed 26-Nov-25 23:14:32

olderme

Ah, Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Excellent warming meal served with a whisky sauce, or even a dram. Roll on Burns Night.smile

No need to wait for Burns Night to eat Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. We dine royally off these all year round, saving the whisky sauce for special occasions. Yum!

Allira Wed 26-Nov-25 23:09:48

olderme

Ah, Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Excellent warming meal served with a whisky sauce, or even a dram. Roll on Burns Night.smile

They're swedes, though, aren't they?

keepingquiet Wed 26-Nov-25 23:03:07

Seems like there are plenty in European supermarkets- so maybe the shortage here has something to do with Brexit?

Wyllow3 Wed 26-Nov-25 23:01:41

Sainsburys has turnips, just not in the small ones with a limited range of veg.

olderme Wed 26-Nov-25 22:55:17

Ah, Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Excellent warming meal served with a whisky sauce, or even a dram. Roll on Burns Night.smile

David49 Tue 04-Nov-25 18:32:02

We often have Swede but not Turnips and haven’t noticed them recently, we do have beetroot in the garden, this year it’s the golden variety, we roast them in the meat pan on Sunday

SheepyIzzy Tue 04-Nov-25 18:05:42

Love turnips, especially raw (raw sprouts especially!) Tesco sold them last year, 59p each, bought several, bought a Swede too, 3 times the size, 69p.

valdavi Tue 04-Nov-25 15:49:26

We used to grow turnips & kale for the cattle, wouldn't dream of eating them ourselves.
Our local supermarket does them, they're more expensive than swede but nicer I think. I roast or fry the baby ones, v nice.
We eat kale too, but I'm not keen.

Calendargirl Tue 04-Nov-25 15:44:16

We had turnip on Sunday.

Probably cattle feed ones, but nothing wrong with that.

From a local farmer, not a supermarket.

kircubbin2000 Tue 04-Nov-25 15:41:13

There used to be little white turnips but I never see them now. Fewer proper veg shops. None near me.

AmberGran Tue 04-Nov-25 15:23:50

Rarely buy turnips so haven't noticed if they are missing. We buy a lot of swedes though. Only really use turnips in stews occasionally.

Labradora Tue 04-Nov-25 15:18:09

No shortage of turnips or swedes here in SW France......
😘😉

MaizieD Tue 04-Nov-25 14:38:43

Turnips are still used for animal feed. A member of the exercise group I go to is a farmer and she brought in lots of monster turnips from the crop that they grow to feed their livestock over the winter. Other people took one or two to cook😀

I don't care for them but the horses will eat them...

Casdon Tue 04-Nov-25 14:31:10

No, I really dislike turnips and swede. They used to feed it to the cows in the winter, probably still do, and the school milk used to taste of them. Ych a fi.

growstuff Tue 04-Nov-25 14:17:26

Turnips are historically important. During the 18th century, they were used as animal feed during winter, so farmers no longer had to slaughter their livestock. They were critical to the introduction of the four field system of crop rotation.

More efficient food supply resulted in an increased population, which enabled the industrial revolution.

www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/the-vegetable-that-terrorized-romans-and-helped-industrialize-england

Frenchgalinspain Tue 04-Nov-25 14:09:13

In the Madrid Capital, I have been quite surprised to see turnips, parsnips and also fennel ..

This is relatively recent times for The Madrid Capital !!

I love fennel in my salads & also Minnestrone and adore parsnips with carrots in a cream soup and like turnips in my lentil stews as well.

Witzend Sun 19-Oct-25 17:33:40

25Avalon

I often buy turnips and swedes from Sainsbury’s with no problems. I thought small turnips were very popular with gourmet chefs - for a while anyway.

My very Francophile foodie BiL, who spends much of the year in Paris, turned up not long ago with a lot of very little baby turnips, which he just fried briefly. They were very nice!

Blossoming Sun 19-Oct-25 17:25:09

I had chicken with mashed carrots and turnips for dinner last night, I .love them,

Beechnut Sun 19-Oct-25 17:18:58

Not keen at all on turnips but love swede.