Turnip

Brassica rapa subsp. rapa

vegetable · root

A white root with a purple top, mild and slightly peppery, of a crucifer probably domesticated in both China and Europe; long a staple of Europe's poor soils, until the potato dethroned it. 100 g provide 21 mg of vitamin C, along with glucosinolates.

Origin

Europe and Western Asia

Season (United States)

October to May · grows in your region

Preparation

The greens are eaten, like radish greens. Its skin is eaten, and that is where its polyphenols sit: worth keeping, then — but under running water, rubbing it, which is what takes off most of what settles there, organic or not. 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 glucosinolatesIn small amounts, not counted Vegetable nitratesWhat slows things down Goitrogens

Did you know?

In Ireland, Jack-o'-lantern, the Halloween character, carried a lantern carved from a turnip.