Rutabaga

Brassica napus

vegetable · root

A large root with yellow flesh, sweet and slightly peppery, long a food of wartime rationing and now back on the table; mashed, stewed or roasted. 100 g provide 25 mg of vitamin C, with glucosinolates.

Origin

Scandinavia (cabbage-turnip cross)

Season (United States)

October to March · grows in your region

Preparation

Its thick skin, often waxed in stores, is removed; its greens, when it has them, are eaten. The bite IS the molecule: long cooking erases it, raw and short cooking keep it. Most of its goitrogens go with cooking, even a short one.

Molecules

Pungent glucosinolatesWhat slows things down Goitrogens

Did you know?

It is a hybrid of cabbage and turnip: its species adds their two genomes together, 9 and 10 chromosomes, making 19.