Storing turnips

[callie]

Help...as some of you know, I live high in the Rocky Mountains. Winter is fast approaching. There's a lady in town who has some turnips and carrots in her garden. She's already shared some with us and says they have so many more that they will just pull them up and throw them away! If I get some more from her, how do I keep them? I have a space under my house...will that work? Or do they have to be refrigerated? Thanks for any advice...

 

[Andy M.]

Root vegetables will keep well and for a long time in a cool dark place. They cannot be allowed to freeze.

Back in the 'old days' folks kept their root vegetables in a root cellar. A box or boxes filled with sand or sawdust will extend 'shelf' life.

 

[Piccolina]

I know you can freeze them (cut up first), much as you would carrots. If you happen to get them with the green tops on these are great cooked as you would other greens (turnip tops are high in vitamin C).

Sorry, I don't know too much about storing them, but I recall reading that they naturally get a little sweeter with time as the starches convert to sugars. I hope someone can answer you question better than I did

 

[callie]

Thanks for your answers...I think I'll try to get some - the worst that can happen is that I have to throw them out later. Garden fresh turnips for Thanksgiving sound really good though. I'm guessing I should leave the tops and the root end untouched for storing...

 

[Piccolina]

If you're a fan of brown sugar or maple glazed carrots you can do the same thing with turnips They are also nice added to mashed potatoes (cooked first) or into the roasting pan with a bird or joint of beef/pork.

 

[Constance]

They should keep very well under your house...cut off the leafy parts (those will rot) but leave the stem and root and pack them in straw.
Here in the midwest, a lot of people just leave them in the ground and dig as they need them. They'll be fine until the ground freezes, and it has to stay really cold for a long time for that to happen. Lots of times, you can dig right through the snow.
An old-fashioned method is to dig a pit...sort of a mini root celler...line it with straw, put in your turnips & carrots, cover with more straw and then dirt.

 

[callie]

Thank you, Constance...that's just what I needed to know!