You can eat turnips raw or cook them. The tender vegetable is often underestimated, but you can use it in a variety of ways in the kitchen. We give you tips for buying and using.
Eating turnips raw: that’s what matters
Turnips come in white and purple colors. In order to be able to process the vegetables, you do not necessarily have to cook them: turnips can also be eaten raw. However, it is important that you peel them first. After all, this type of vegetable has a fairly hard skin.
In the raw state, you can eat turnips with their slightly spicy taste particularly well in a salad or as a raw vegetable with a delicious dip. The leafy greens are good for seasoning, for example in soups or salads. Cooked, the turnips taste particularly good with hearty recipes, such as in soups or on tarte flambée.
Buy turnips: you should pay attention to this
If you want to eat turnips raw, they taste particularly delicious when they are fresh. If the vegetables look plump and have crisp leafy greens, this indicates good quality. It is best to look for a meaningful organic seal, for example from Demeter or Naturland. Then you can be sure that the turnips come from an organic farm that works without chemical pesticides.
If you can’t use the turnips right away, you can keep them in the fridge for another three to four days. Also keep in mind that the main season for turnips is very short: it lasts from May to June. You can find other seasons, also for other types of fruit and vegetables, in our Utopia seasonal calendar.
The turnips probably originally come from India, from where the Romans brought them to Europe. They are now grown in tropical countries as well as on European soil. With your purchase, support regional vegetables with a shorter transport route and CO2 consumption.