Turnip – what is it, composition and types of plants, care and growing, recipes for cooking

The content of the article

• What is turnip
• Turnip Composition
• Plant species
• Benefit and harm
• Turnip application
• Growing and caring for turnips
• Sowing seeds and growing seedlings
• Outdoor planting and care
• Turnip watering
• Plant nutrition
• Diseases and Pests
• Turnip cleaning and storage
• How to cook turnip
• Baked Turnip with Onion and Cheese
• Appetizer of pork, turnip and apples
• Vegetarian soup
• Turnip photo

Previously, no feast was possible without this root crop. Today, few people know about turnips, but in vain, because the vegetable is very useful. If you grow it at home using organic technology, you can get an environmentally friendly plant, valuable for adults and children. Not everyone will like the taste, but periodic use of the product will have a beneficial effect on the body systems..

What is turnip

The second name of the species is feed turnip. Turnip is a two-year-old plant from the Cabbage family. A special sort of rutabaga was originally grown to feed animals, and over time, breeders bred tasty root crops suitable for human consumption. There are about ten wonderful varieties with juicy pulp and various gastronomic notes. Only 30-50 g of vegetable compensates for the daily intake of some valuable substances.

Turnip Composition

One hundred grams of the product contains approximately 28 kcal, 1 g of protein, 1 g of fat and 6 g of carbohydrates. The composition of the vegetable is extremely rich. The root crop contains the following nutrients:

• vitamins: B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, C, E, K, PP;
• trace elements: zinc, manganese, iron, selenium, copper;
• macronutrients: sodium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium;
• carbohydrates: di- and polysaccharides, dietary fiber;
• fats: linoleic, linolenic acid (found in seeds), mustard oil;
• physiologically active substances: flavonoids, sterols, organic acids.

Plant species

The work of breeders gave mankind many tasty varieties of turnip. They are divided into white and yellow. The latter have more solids, and they are stored better, but varieties with white pulp are more productive. Popular varieties of yellow meat roots:

1. Long Bortfeld. The variety is sweet and tasty, pulp of medium juiciness. The tops are underdeveloped, the leaves are raised, bright green. The root crop is elongated, half peeping from the ground. Harvest almost the whole, without damage.
2. Yellow Violet-headed. The core is tasty, slightly succulent. The tops are underdeveloped, the leaves are bright green on purple petioles, raised. The root crop is roundly flattened, dark purple on top, yellowing downward. Damaged vegetables are found.
3. Yellow Tankard. The pulp is juicy, tasty. The tops are highly developed, petiolate leaves are green, semi-raised. The root crop is elongated, half immersed in the ground. The top of the vegetable is green and the bottom is yellow. Little damage.
4. Finnish-Bortfeld. The edible portion is tasty, juicy. The tops are green, well developed, petiolate, raised leaves. The root crop is elongated, half peeping from the ground. Single damage.
5. Greystone (Gray Stone). The flesh is tasteless, slightly succulent – a typical feed grade. The number of tops is average, petiolate leaves are green, there is a little yellow, raised. The aerial part of the root crop is green, scaly, and the underground part is yellow. The shape is round, flattened on top, the vegetable is deepened by a quarter of the volume. The crop has a lot of damaged root crops.

Varieties with white flesh are also popular. The best representatives of the species:

1. Ostersundom (Ostersundom). Pulp of medium taste, with bitterness. The tops are underdeveloped, the leaves are green with purple petioles, half-raised. The root crop is elongated, half deepened. Vegetable top purple, bottom white. Little damage.
2. Norfolk is white round. The core is juicy, medium taste. The tops are highly developed, the leaves are green with purple petioles, half-raised. The root crop is roundly flattened, color purple. Rare damage.
3. Six week The pulp is tasty, juicy. The tops are underdeveloped, petiolate leaves are green. The root crop is round, slightly flattened on top. Depth in the ground by a quarter of the volume, white. Damaged Roots Found.
4. Round red-headed. The pulp is of medium juiciness, pleasant taste. The tops are voluminous, petiolate leaves are raised. The root crop is roundly flattened, sits in the ground for a third. The color of the edible part is dark purple, turning into white. Damage a lot, there are vegetables, empty inside.
5. White ball. The core is juicy, tasty. Root crops are round, half sit in the ground. The aerial part is purple, the underground part is white. The variety was one of the last.

Benefit and harm

People who regularly eat this vegetable more effectively resist SARS and influenza. Experts recommend including the product in the diet for diseases of the circulatory system. The root crop thins the blood, which prevents the development of thrombocytosis, normalizes blood pressure. Turnip strengthens arteries, veins and capillaries, reduces their permeability. Useful for anemia because it increases hemoglobin. During colds, flu, bronchitis, the vegetable promotes the elimination of sputum, enhances sweating, excretion of fluids from the body, and relieves inflammation.

Phytoncides and mustard oil included in the composition inhibit the activity of bacteria and viruses. Juice calms the nervous system, improves attention, memory, thinking. Turnip is useful for the intestines: coarse fiber relieves constipation, removes toxins, improves the secretion of digestive juices, and stimulates peristalsis. The root crop reduces blood sugar, helps to lose excess weight, and improves appetite. Rutabaga should be used by people with osteochondrosis, gout, polyneuritis. Decoctions and infusions on a vegetable relieve worms.

Healthy people may feel uncomfortable if they overeat turnip. The product causes bloating, reflux, dizziness, and headaches. It is forbidden to use a culture for such diseases:

• gastritis with high acidity, stomach ulcer, intestines;
• varicose veins;
• nephritis;
• hypothyroidism;
• hypertensive crisis.

Turnip application

Vegetable is actively used in traditional medicine. Freshly squeezed juice helps to remove kidney stones, fights cough, relieves pain of different localization, improves heart function, is used to treat joint diseases. Fresh eliminates bleeding gums. Decoction from root vegetables is drunk with asthma, bronchitis, tachycardia, to improve sleep and weaken the intestines. They gargle with angina, gingivitis, stomatitis, gum disease. An ointment based on turnips and goose fat treats frostbite, poultices of boiled vegetable relieve pain with gout.

Turnip is used in cooking as the main and secondary ingredient. Feed turnips are added to salads, meatballs, lamb pork, beef, poultry. The taste is sharp, without a pronounced aroma, it resembles something between a fresh cabbage and a radish. The vegetable is combined with sour cream, vegetable oil, potatoes, cheese, tomatoes. A great combination is turnip and boiled egg. Americans stew turnip with ham, bake in pots, and the Japanese fry root vegetables with salt.

Growing and caring for turnips

In the first year of life, the plant forms a rosette of leaves and root crops, and in the second year, flowers and seeds. The vegetable is unpretentious, gives a good harvest, grows rapidly. Not afraid of cold weather – plants withstand frost up to -8 ° C, but if the root crop is already formed, such a drop in temperature is critical. The plant does not tolerate drought, intense heat, likes a moderate sun.

Sowing seeds and growing seedlings

Spring sowing of seeds in the soil is carried out in late April – early May, summer – in the first decade of July. Planting material is mixed with coarse sand in a proportion of 1:10. This mixture is poured into peat pots and sprinkled with a layer of sand 1-1.5 cm thick. Humidify the earth with a fine spray, cover the crops with glass or film, transfer to a warm place.

As a representative of Cruciferous turnip, it does not tolerate picking, so it must first be planted in separate pots. After emergence, the strongest seedling is left in the pot. The rest are plucked (not pulled out!) So as not to damage the root system of the developed plant. Caring for seedlings of fodder turnips similar to caring for rutabaga, radish.

Outdoor planting and care

Seedlings are transferred to the street in the second half of May. In Siberia, forage turnips are planted with the onset of persistently warm weather. You must select a sunny or partially shaded area in the lowland. Basic rules for planting and care:

• Best predecessors: strawberries, beets, spring and winter crops, annual grasses.
• You can not plant a plant immediately after cruciferous crops.
• Optimal soil for root crops: loams, sod-podzolic peatlands with acidity of 5.0-6.5 pH.
• Ground preparation in the fall: digging a site; to a depth of 20-25 cm, it is necessary to introduce rotted manure at the rate of 1 bucket per 3 m2, wood ash (1 glass per 1 m2) or Nitrofosco (1.5 st. per 1 m2). Do not fertilize the ground with fresh manure.
• Rules for planting a vegetable: the distance between the holes is 20-30 cm, the row spacing is 40-60 cm. Pre-watered seedlings, remove from the cups together with the ground. Put them in the hole, cover with soil, compact the soil, water. If the seedlings are in peat pots, you can place seedlings in the ground directly with the dishes. After watering, mulch the bed with peat.
• Measures for plant care: watering, loosening the soil, timely removal of weeds, fertilizing. After watering or rain, the soil is loosened to a depth of 8 cm, weeding is carried out. Before the first loosening, the ground can be sprinkled with mustard, ash – this will frighten cruciferous fleas. If seeds were sown in open ground, after the appearance of 2-3 leaves of the plant, you need to thin out.

Turnip watering

With a lack of moisture, root crops become bitter, and excessive moisture makes them watery. Turnip fodder needs abundant watering, but water should not wash away the soil from the upper part of the root crop. Water consumption for young plants is 5-6 l / m2, for formed turnips – 3-4 l / m2. Watering is necessary 1-2 times a week, while looking at the weather.

Plant nutrition

On poor soils, top dressing is carried out twice a season. For this, organic matter is used: slurry (1:10) or chicken manure solution (1:20). In July or June, superphosphate is added to the organic solution – this increases the sugar content of the crop. Minerals such as manganese, copper and boron are useful for feed turnips. They are brought into moist soil, then the soil is loosened. If the land is fertile, there is no need for fertilizers.

Diseases and Pests

Leaves and root crops suffer from the same diseases and pests as other representatives of the Cruciferous family. Prevention measures, methods of control and treatment are indicated in the table:

Turnip cleaning and storage

The root crop ripens about 24 weeks after sowing. Signs of technical ripeness: yellowing, wilting and drying of the lower leaves. A plant sown in the spring, harvested from the end of June. Early feed turnips are poorly stored. Winter varieties are harvested in September / October, taking into account the temperature – frosts below -6 ° C should not be allowed. Root crops are pulled out or dug up, cleaned of the ground, cut the tops, leaving 2 cm of stems.

You can only store whole, dry and healthy turnips. Frozen root crops quickly deteriorate. The vegetable is kept at a temperature of 0-2 ° C and a humidity of 85-90%. Turnip is laid out on the flooring from the boards, each layer is poured with sand. You can dig a trench up to 1 m in the garden, looking south-north, put root crops in it, sprinkle them with peat or dry earth, cover with moisture-proof material on top.

How to cook turnip

A good quality vegetable crunches, has a sweet taste, bitterness is absent or felt very distantly. The product makes excellent cold soups, snacks. If the root vegetable is used to prepare a side dish, it must be combined with other ingredients, because not everyone will like the concentrated pungent taste. Want to experiment in the kitchen? Use the recipes below.

Baked Turnip with Onion and Cheese

• Time: 40 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 4 Persons.
• Calorie dishes: 1500 kcal.
• Purpose: for lunch, dinner.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: Easy.

Gratin from fodder turnip turns out to be tender, palatable, fragrant. The combination with onions and cheese will appeal to many lovers of simple but delicious dishes. All products are affordable, the cooking process itself is quick and enjoyable. The amount of cheese can be varied, and if you want to get a delicious crisp, hold the gratin in the oven for longer.

Ingredients:

• turnip – 4 pcs.;
• onions – 3-4 pcs.;
• grated cheese – 2 cups;
• butter – 4 tbsp. l .;
• chicken stock – 100 ml;
• fat cream – 100 ml;
• salt, pepper, herbs – to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Wash turnips, peel, cut into thin plates.
2. Cheese grated on a coarse grater.
3. Peel the onion, cut into half rings.
4. Put a deep frying pan on the fire, melt the butter.
5. Lay out a layer of turnip, then a layer of onion, cheese on top. Pour in a small amount of cream, broth, salt and pepper.
6. Alternate layers until the ingredients run out. The contents of the pan will already begin to boil.
7. Place the pan in the oven, preheated at 180 degrees, bake for a third of an hour.

Appetizer of pork, turnip and apples

• Time: 85 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 8 Persons.
• Calorie meals: 2320 kcal.
• Purpose: for lunch, for a snack.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: medium.

Such an unusual snack can surprise guests during a feast. It’s easy to cook, but it takes time to cook. Per serving, 290 kcal. If you want to reduce the energy value of a dish, use chicken drumstick, rabbit instead of pork or do not add butter. To make the meat soft, you can marinate it in a medium acid marinade.

Ingredients:

• water – 3.5 cups;
• pork drumstick – 400 g;
• turnip leaves – 1 kg;
• turnip – 600 g;
• apple – 3 pcs.;
• butter – 3 tbsp. l .;
• apple cider vinegar – 2 tsp;
• sugar – 2 tsp.

Cooking method:

1. Pour water into a large pot, add chopped turnip leaves, meat,? tsp salt. Bring to a boil, add butter, cook over low heat for 20 minutes (leaves should become soft).
2. Peel apples, cut into small pieces.
3. Cut the turnip into small pieces. Add vegetables and apples to the pan, add vinegar, sugar,? tsp salt, pepper. Cook for another 20 minutes (apples and turnips should become soft).
4. Remove the meat, cut into small pieces.
5. Flip the contents of the pan into a colander, let the liquid drain.
6. Mix the colander ingredients with the meat. The appetizer is ready.

Vegetarian soup

• Time: 35 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 10 Persons.
• Calorie dishes: 988 kcal.
• Purpose: for lunch, for a snack.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: Easy.

This soup is not too thick and not too thin. The dish is cooked in a four-liter pan. The undoubted advantages are the original taste, benefits for the body (there are a lot of vitamins and minerals in it!), An excellent variety of diet. The soup is very nutritious, if you wish, you can add other vegetables to it, such as zucchini. If vegetarianism isn’t for you, cook the chicken broth..

Ingredients:

• potatoes – 400 g;
• carrots – 2 pcs.;
• turnip – 400 g;
• leek – 2 pcs.;
• onions – 1 pc.;
• pearl barley – 100 g;
• bay leaf, parsley, salt – to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Cut potatoes and turnips with a medium cube, put in boiling water with pearl barley.
2. Cut onions into small cubes, leeks into thin slices, celery into cubes / slices, carrots into medium cubes.
3. Pass the vegetables in vegetable oil, pour into a saucepan and cook until cooked. Salt.
4. 5 minutes before the end of cooking add parsley, peppercorns, bay leaf.

Turnip photo