Natural form

Whole turnip roots with characteristic purple-white bicolor skin and fresh leafy tops.

Shows the reader exactly what a turnip looks like at the point of purchase, including the distinctive bicolor skin that distinguishes it from other roots.

Produce

Turnip

Peppery, crisp root for roasting, mashing, and stews

Mildly peppery and crisp, turnips roast to a sweet tenderness, mash like potatoes, and bulk up a winter stew. The greens are edible too. Keep the roots cold.

The turnip is a humble, peppery root with crisp white flesh blushed purple at the shoulder. Young and small it's mild and sweet enough to eat raw; older and larger it turns sharper and earthier, mellowing to sweetness when roasted or mashed. A workhorse of winter stews and an underrated roasting vegetable, the turnip also gives you edible, slightly mustardy greens — two crops in one.

Measured in: piece
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 30 days

Find it in

Produce

Types & varieties

Purple-top white globe

The common market turnip; purple shoulder, white base

Hakurei (Tokyo / salad turnip)

Small, sweet, tender — delicious raw

Baby turnip

Mild and quick-cooking; roast or glaze whole

How to choose

Pick turnips that feel firm and heavy for their size, with smooth, taut skin and no soft spots or deep blemishes. Smaller turnips are sweeter and more tender; large ones can be woody, pithy, and sharply peppery. Fresh attached greens are a sign of recent harvest.

How to store

Separate the greens (they pull moisture from the root), and keep the roots in the crisper for a couple of weeks. Store the greens loose and use them within a few days. Bigger storage turnips keep longest.

How to prep and tame the bite

Peel mature turnips (young Hakurei types don't need it). Raw, slice thin into salads. To soften the peppery edge, roast them until caramelized, mash them (often half-and-half with potato), or blanch before braising. Cooking transforms their sharpness into a gentle, sweet earthiness.