Modern Hill Woman

Spring will be here soon and gardening is on our minds. My husband yanked up old okra stalks today, and reminded me that there’s still a lot of turnips in the garden. They wintered over in the ground, but they’re still sweet and crisp.

That got me to thinking about a really underrated food...the turnip. People either hate them or love them.

My husband thought he hated them until he tried them again a few years ago, and it turns out he loves them. He was traumatized by turnips as a kid when his mom passed them off as mashed potatoes.

Turnips were one of the first domesticated crops, and have been grown and largely looked down on, for around 4,000 years.

In Roman times, the turnip was the favorite vegetable of choice to hurl at unpopular public figures. Ouch. 15th Century country bumpkins were called “turnip eaters.” Charles Dickens novels called complete idiots a “turnip.” If you “just fell off the turnip truck,” it means you’re naive, ignorant, or gullible.

Originating in Europe and Western Asia, turnips were easy to grow and resistance to cold weather made them essential to survival. Early European colonists brought them to America.

Until the 1700s, farmers slaughtered their cows and pigs before winter, to avoid the expense of storing hay through the wet season. It was discovered that turnips could be grown in damp, cold regions for livestock feed, thus increasing the availability of milk and meat year-round.

The ancient Celts revered turnips as more than food, they were a conduit to the spirit world. During their harvest festival, people carved turnips into lanterns. They believed these “jack-o-lanterns” warded off evil spirits and guided lost souls.

With the spread of Christianity, this practice was incorporated into All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day celebrations. The carved lanterns became symbols of departed souls, their inner light representing the promise of eternal life.

In parts of Northern Europe, a carved turnip placed on a doorstep is thought to bring good luck and prosperity to the household.

During the Turnip Winter of World War I, German civilians were reduced to living almost wholly on turnips, due to a failed potato harvest and bread shortages.

Faced with food shortages during World War II, British citizens also turned to turnips to avoid starvation.

In the United States during the Great Depression, turnips became known as “Hoover apples.” They were named after Herbert Hoover, who was President and was widely blamed for the Depression. For some families, those “Hoover apples” were their main food source.

Turnips are in the same family as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage; so, if you like any these vegetables, you might want to give turnips another try. Besides the root, the leafy greens on turnips are edible and full of nutrition.

Turnips are low in carbohydrates, high in fiber, they contain potassium, Vitamin C, calcium, manganese, and antioxidants.

Don’t turn-up your nose to the turn-ip. It deserves some respect.