I don't understand the mystery about turnips.

[caseydog]

That reminds me of the time I was buying a couple of turnips and even the cashier picked one of them up and said "What is this???"

As for consuming them, I like them added to roasts. The turnips have to be baked/roasted until very soft before I will eat them.

I've never eaten a parsnip, to my knowledge. I wonder if it tastes the same as turnips?

No, parsnips taste different. Really more like a potato than a turnip.

CD

 

[pictonguy]

I've seen dishes that were prepared with parsnip puree (usually fish). I'll have to try that sometime, if I can find a good recipe.

Well for fish I would do this.

Saute some onion or shallot until soft and not caramelized in butter over a medium heat and you could clarify the butter for the best alternative. When the onion is soft add sliced garlic and cook for another minutes or 2, then add the sliced parsnips along with some cream and whole milk and generally a 2:1 ratio of cream to milk will prevent curdling and just bring to a gently boil. I would then add some fennel fronds and some lemon zest, no juice. In a blender add all of those ingredients and blend and if it's too thick add some liquid, water works. Also try and find a 35% cream where there is no stabilizers and with the only ingredient being cream, it cooks better, much better and actually I avoid any that aren't just cream. And of course always season as you go.

If you can't find a recipe that you like I can assemble one based on what I mentioned above, or change it based on a different protein, all you have to do is ask.

 

[Linda0818]

Well for fish I would do this.

Saute some onion or shallot until soft and not caramelized in butter over a medium heat and you could clarify the butter for the best alternative. When the onion is soft add sliced garlic and cook for another minutes or 2, then add the sliced parsnips along with some cream and whole milk and generally a 2:1 ratio of cream to milk will prevent curdling and just bring to a gently boil. I would then add some fennel fronds and some lemon zest, no juice. In a blender add all of those ingredients and blend and if it's too thick add some liquid, water works. Also try and find a 35% cream where there is no stabilizers and with the only ingredient being cream, it cooks better, much better and actually I avoid any that aren't just cream. And of course always season as you go.

If you can't find a recipe that you like I can assemble one based on what I mentioned above, or change it based on a different protein, all you have to do is ask.

Thanks much. I'll look around for recipes. It will be a while before I go to the store again anyway, so I have plenty of time to find something that's within my comfort zone, since I've never had parsnips before. Let alone try and puree them, haha

 

[taxlady]

i think turnips are under rated , many people love them , they are very easy to grow and they used to be cheap

i knew a cattle rancher once that moved his herd to another pasture took his tractor and plowed up a 40 acre field and planted turnips , then later in the year when the cows had eaten most of the grass , he brought them back to the "turnip field ". after they had eaten all the turnip greens , he said the cows would use their hoofs to dig up the roots and eat them in the dead of winter

I saw pictures of the fields before and after a farmer loosed her sheep on the turnips. She said that it is good for the soil. It's also a cheap way to feed them in winter. I doubt it would work somewhere like Quebec, that gets a lot of snow.

 

[caseydog]

I saw pictures of the fields before and after a farmer loosed her sheep on the turnips. She said that it is good for the soil. It's also a cheap way to feed them in winter. I doubt it would work somewhere like Quebec, that gets a lot of snow.

The frost line there goes pretty deep. That would do more to hamper the rooting for turnips than snow itself. That ground is probably pretty hard.

CD

 

[taxlady]

The frost line there goes pretty deep. That would do more to hamper the rooting for turnips than snow itself. That ground is probably pretty hard.

CD

I think the roots handle the frost line. I was thinking more of the sheep or cattle finding the roots under several feet of snow.

 

[caseydog]

I think the roots handle the frost line. I was thinking more of the sheep or cattle finding the roots under several feet of snow.

Not sure... the frostline here is about one inch below the surface.

CD

 

[grumpyoldman]

where that rancher was , was in the deep south, so your right it might not work there

 

[dragnlaw]

Frost line here is 4 feet. But in the late fall and early winter it will not have reached that yet. Cattle could easily dig. But I think this is more of an old world thing. I don't know how they harvest turnips here. If machines, won't be much to forage, if manual yeah probably.

 

[taxlady]

Frost line here is 4 feet. But in the late fall and early winter it will not have reached that yet. Cattle could easily dig. But I think this is more of an old world thing. I don't know how they harvest turnips here. If machines, won't be much to forage, if manual yeah probably.

I think the pictures I saw were from England. It's irrelevant how they harvest turnips. These turnips are specifically planted for the sheep. They have the entire crop to forage.

 

[dragnlaw]

Ahhhh, good to know, you didn't mention that before.

 

[taxlady]

Ahhhh, good to know, you didn't mention that before.

That I didn't mention that the turnips were specifically planted for the sheep? It was implied by being a reply to grumpyoldman's post, which did mention the intentional planting for foraging.

 

[caseydog]

I don't know how they harvest turnips here. If machines, won't be much to forage, if manual yeah probably.

I've heard that it is not a good idea to fall off a turnip truck in the big city.

CD

 

[caseydog]

I think the pictures I saw were from England. It's irrelevant how they harvest turnips. These turnips are specifically planted for the sheep. They have the entire crop to forage.

Driving down from Edinburgh to the Lake District in England, we saw a lot of those big, long haired sheep. That was cool. We saw some swans big enough to stand face to face with me, too. They were quite friendly, unlike a lot of swans... looking for handouts, no doubt.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

taxy, guess there were just too many posts in between for me to connect that he implied the field had been sown for that particular reason. I'd never heard of that before. Turning them out to forage after harvest, yes. Pretty common practice I should think. But not planting for that specific reason.

I just always thought it an old world practice and also thought that back then although they probably tried to practice good husbandry(?) they were also just as concerned for feeding themselves. Root vegetable being a staple. So planting a field for just the cattle would not (in my estimation) have been a common practice. Other than hay of course.

 

[grumpyoldman]

uh that was not" old world " it was only about 30 years ago . dang how old do you think i am ?

 

[dragnlaw]

I'm referring to the immigrants who came over from the old world.


and I am perhaps, a wee tad older than you, LOL
l'm not bragging - it is what it is...

 

[Kathleen]

If cooked right, I like all veggies including root veggies and all greens. Like @taxlady, I love beet greens!

 

[skilletlicker]

In my current part of the world, turnip, collard, and mustard greens are sold side by side in the grocery store. I like all three. Between those, turnip greens are my favorite. I never see beet greens sold separately, but when I'm feeling extravagant, I'll buy a bunch of organic beets, usually sold with tops attached, and they're great raw in salads or sauteed with scrambled eggs.

Turnip roots alone are cheaper, never organic, and I like them in soups and stews, anywhere you might otherwise use potatoes.

My problem is I'm usually limited to grocery deliveries. The problem is that shoppers rarely even know the difference between a beet and a radish, let alone turnips vs. rutabagas.

 

[grumpyoldman]

skilletlicker@ i just noticed where you live , my son lives in a comunnity just northeast of Memphis