Turnip is a root vegetablewidely cultivated in antiquity. Extremely he althy and tasty turnips are easy to grow and undemanding. Get to knownutritional and he alth properties of turnipsand its popular varieties. Also find out what requirements must be met for turnips to grow he althily and give a bountiful harvest. We also advisehow to eat turnipsto enjoy its taste and nutritional values!
Turnip - Brassica rapa subsp. rapa
Fig. pixabay.com
Rzepa(Brassica rapa subsp.rapa) belongs to the Brassicaceae family and is native to the Mediterranean and South-West Asia. Turnip does not occur in its natural state, it is only a farm plant. It was already cultivated in ancient Babylon, Egypt, Greece and Rome. In Europe, it was one of the main food sources for a long time - it had many uses when baked, boiled or dried. It lost popularity with the advent of potatoes.
Currently, this slightly forgotten vegetable can be seen again both in gardens and on store shelves. It must not be forgotten thatturnip is food not only for humans- turnip varieties with larger, less tasty roots are bred as animal feed.
What does turnip look like?
Turnip is a biennial plant but we usually grow it as an annual , because we do not care about its inflorescences, but only the root produced earlier. Turnips sown in spring form inflorescences in the same year.If we sow it later, it will produce a storage root in the first year, and inflorescences in the second. The edible bulbous thickening of the turnip is rounded and often flattened. It is mostly white and yellow. There are also varieties with pink, purple, and greenish swellings. The turnip forms a rosette of large leaves on long petioles.In some varieties of turnipsyoung leaves can be eaten.
Turnip - Brassica rapa subsp. rapa
Fig. pixabay.com
White turnip and black turnip
"There is a common division into black and white turnips, but it is incorrectThe so-called black turnips are simply one of the dark radish varieties (Raphanus sativus var. Niger) the skin. Its best known varieties are &39;Murzynka&39; and &39;Czarna Kula&39;. Radish, like turnips, belongs to the cabbage family and is popular especially in Japan.In our country it is quite a rare vegetable.
It is therefore worth remembering that we can buy a white or black radish.Wrong term black turnip probably came from the popular spherical varieties of black-skinned radishBlack radish looks like turnips and many people confused these species. As a result, black radish varieties were incorrectly called black turnips. "
Nowadays, white radish with elongated tubers is most often bought, which allows it to be distinguished from turnips, which have clearly round tubers. If we see a turnip-like vegetable with round and black tubers, we can be sure that it is a black radish, not a turnip.
Turnip - nutritional and he alth benefits
The spicy taste of turnips comes frommustard glycosides which improve digestion. Thanks to them, turnips support metabolism and prevent constipation. This inconspicuous vegetable has valuable nutritional values. It contains vitamins: A, C, PP, B, as well as calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus, antioxidants and essential oils.
Dietary and low-calorie turnips(only 22 kcal per 100 g) also has healing properties - it has diuretic properties and soothes peptic ulcer disease and gastroenteritis. Thanks to the phytoncidesturnips also have an antiseptic effectand support wound healing.
Turnip - Brassica rapa subsp. rapa
Fig. depositphotos.com
How to eat turnips?
You can eat turnipsboth raw, boiled or fried. It can be used as an addition to soups, especially vegetable cream soups.
Most often, turnips are eaten raw as an addition to salads. For example, grated carrots, celery, chopped parsley and yogurt are added to freshly grated turnips. It is seasoned with s alt and pepper.
There is also a popularrecipe for turnip pancakes with carrot and eggFirst, prepare a dough by combining: 1 egg, ¼ cup of wheat flour, 1/4 cup of water.A chopped garlic clove, a glass of grated white turnips and a glass of grated carrots are added to the resulting mass. Season it with s alt and pepper. After thoroughly mixing the ingredients, form pancakes and fry them until golden brown. Such a portion should be enough for 2 people.
It is worth knowing thatyoung turnip leaves are also edibleThey contain a lot of fiber, calcium, vitamin C and iron. After frying in butter, they can be added to stuffing, just like spinach. When fresh, they will be a perfect decoration for the aforementioned grated turnip cakes.
Turnip - varieties
Rzepa 'Di Milano a Colletto Viola'- this is an early variety. It has two-colored, pink and white lumps with a delicate flavor and juicy flesh. Young leaves are also edible. It is an early variety of turnips with a fairly short growing period of about 60 days.
Turnip 'Golden Ball'- is a popular variety, tasty and fertile. Its round, regular swellings have an unusual yellow color of the skin and flesh. This mid-late variety is great for storage.
Turnip 'Snowball'- is a mid-early variety with a large, spherical or slightly elongated thickening. The skin and flesh are white. Recommended for cultivation as an aftercrop and a pre-crop vegetable.
Turnip 'De Nancy'- a variety with a delicate, sweetish and glassy flesh and white-pink skin. It is resistant to pressure. It can be grown from sowing in early spring or summer for fall harvest.
TheJapanese varieties of turnipsdeserve a distinction, as they have a mild, fresh taste with a nutty note. In addition to the thickening, the young leaves of these varieties are also edible.
Turnip 'Tokyo Top' F1- a variety with a round and white thickening, 5-7 cm in diameter. It is characterized by high quality, good durability and a delicate and sweet taste. This variety does not show a tendency to break out quickly and is recommended for growing from spring to autumn.
Turnip 'Tokyo Cross' F1- is a variety with round and white beads with a diameter of approx. 6 cm. It has a sweet, firm flesh and is suitable for direct consumption. The seeds are sown after May 15 at the earliest. Growing season: approximately 35 days from sowing.
Turnip 'Oasisi' F1- has smooth, firm, round hair with white skin. We grow it in summer and autumn.
Turnip 'Falko' F1- has round lumps with an interesting, purple skin. It is resistant to high temperatures. Intended for summer and autumn harvesting.
Turnip 'Purple Crown' F1- belongs to the early varieties and has an interesting pink-purple color of half of the fruit. The bulges are large (8-10 cm in diameter) and very even.
Turnip - Brassica rapa subsp. rapa
Fig. depositphotos.com
Turnip - cultivation
It is recommended to grow turnipsafter potatoes, pumpkins, tomatoes, cucumbers and legumes. It should not be sown in places where other cruciferous vegetables previously grew.
Turnips do best inlight loamy and sandy loam soils, well-drained and fertile. The best position is 2-3 years after the manure. Acidic soils are not suitable for growing turnips. Plants prefer sunny or slightly shaded places.
Turnip - sowing seeds
The turnip is sown directly into the ground in spring , in April at the earliest. It is not disturbed by the cold - the optimal temperature for development is 12-20 ° C. The vegetation period, depending on the variety, is 60-80 days.
Sow turnip seeds in rowsevery 20-30 cm to a depth of 1-3 cm. They germinate at a temperature of 2-3 ° C, and the seedlings are resistant to short-term frosts. After emergence, interrupt the seedlings, leaving 8-10 cm in a row between the plants.
Sowing turnips can be donenot only in early spring, but also in late summer from mid-August. For summer cultivation, we recommendJapanese turnips , which do not lose their flavor at high temperatures and water shortages.
Turnip - watering and care
Turnip care consists of regular and abundant watering , loosening the soil and weeding. Maintaining adequate humidity (approx.80%) of the substrate at an even level is essential in the cultivation of turnips. In this way, we obtain tubers with a firm skin, delicate flavor and firm flesh. Drought exposes plants to pest attack (earth fleas) and impairs the taste and firmness of the calluses. Rapid changes in humidity are very unfavorable, causingcracking of the turnip roots
Turnip - fertilization
Turnip has high nutritional requirements, especially in the period of intensive growth. Therefore, in addition to organic fertilization, plants are also supplied with mineral fertilizers: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (2: 2: 3) in the amount of 20 g per m². Among the micronutrients important for the development of turnips is boron, the deficiencies of which are manifested by root stinging.
Turnip - harvesting and storage
It is very importanttimely collection of Velcro beads , which are left to wood for too long. For the fall harvest, it is important to be in time before the onset of frost. Frozen roots cannot be eaten.
We collect young plants of early varieties with a thickening of 3 - 8 cm as they ripen, starting from June, late varieties - in October and November. Young, edible leaves of turnips are collected on a regular basis for direct consumption.
Turnips are storedduring the winter covered with a 1-1.5 cm layer of sand at a temperature of 0-1 ° C and humidity 90-95%. If placed in a refrigerator, it can keep it fresh for about 2 weeks.
MSc Eng. Anna Błaszczak
