Also known as Swede turnip, the earthy dweller has significant dietary benefits.
Ponder the rutabaga.
Commonly associated with Thanksgiving, the two-toned rutabaga seems aptly, almost onomatopoeically, named.
It’s a cross between a wild turnip and a cabbage. The bulbous monstrosity was apparently unearthed or bred in the 1600s in Bohemia, or perhaps it was a bit farther north in Sweden. The first rutabaga was brought to the New World in the same century it was found or created.
Its endearing moniker is taken from the Swedish: rotabagge meaning, not so endearingly, “root bag.”
Not surprisingly, the rutabaga prefers to grow in cold climates. Some recommend planting seeds 100 days prior to the first frost.
Apparently only those with the ability to predict the vagaries of Mother Nature will be able to time their planting perfectly. For who can say for certain when the first frost will be?
The cabbage relation is made of hardy stock and remains fresh for two weeks in cool dry storage. It is resistant to most blight, but not to insects that shall remain unidentified, lest the thought of them petrify the delicate sensibilities of the reader.
Eaten mashed or in chicken soup or beef stew, the nearly amber, luminous flesh of Brassica napus nappobrassica is tangy and a bit tart.
Its leaves are edible in theory, though I can’t say I’ve had the opportunity to try them. Perhaps I should, seeing that I’m quite fond of turnip greens but tend to be underwhelmed by the flavor and texture whence they sprout.
Also known as Swede turnip, the earthy dweller has significant dietary benefits: fiber, manganese, potassium, Vitamins B6 and C, folate, calcium, thiamin, and phosphorus.
No wonder it can be blamed for bloating and other unmentionable gastrointestinal trouble.
It’s interesting to ponder its royal purple and yellow tone, given that it spends its life underground. Even more interesting is the response it has inspired in communities in two coastal states.
Some enterprising Empire State farmers have apparently found a way to celebrate the rutabaga’s rotundity and hardiness without actually having to ingest its lethal flesh.
The International Rutabaga Curl has been held since 1998 on the last day of the the Ithaca Farmers’ Market. This 12-year tradition has its roots two years earlier in an unmediated free-for-all food fight.
There’s an emblem closely resembling the Olympic rings, rules and shapely medals, more than vaguely resembling the heavyweight tuber.
Presumably, bowling the densely packed vegetables on unfinished wooden floors outdoors has no effect on their potential to be ingested safely (or perhaps a bit unsafely), once washed thoroughly, peeled and cooked.
The city of Arcata in northern California’s Humboldt County has an annual Rutabaga Queen pageant, which seems to have nothing to do with bathing suits and everything to do with chutzpah.
The pageant takes place in the Portuguese Hall, and the reigning queen presides over the Kinetic Sculpture race, which involves 42 miles, three days, and people aboard moveable amphibious art going over land and sea.
How any of this relates to the stationary vegetable that presumably never moves of its own accord is more than a bit murky.
One person recommends boiling diced rutabaga in an already clean stainless steel pot to remove film. Hmm.
There are brave souls who put rutabaga into cake. Think zucchini bread here. There’s a recipe online for rutabaga and smoked paprika bisque that sounds delicious. More than one cook has developed grated salads for the rutabaga, pairing it with apple.
In the heart of winter, a friend heroically managed to skin one raw and boil the interior in large chunks. She didn’t object when I sliced shavings of ripe pear into the steaming mash along with a dollop of butter, adding salt and pepper. The fruit cut the bitterness and added a touch of sweetness.
In fact, this humble fruit of the earth tasted, dare I say, heavenly.
Jane Kaufman is editor of The Republican's forthcoming book, "Our Stories: A History of Jewish Immigration in Western Massachusetts." It is one in a series from The Republican on different ethnic groups that debuted in the fall with "The Irish Legacy: A History of the Irish in Western Massachusetts." Other books due out this fall include "The Struggle for Freedom: A History of African Americans in Western Massachusetts" as well "Nuestra Historia: A History of Latinos in Western Massachusetts," which can be pre-ordered through the newspaper.
"Irish Legacy" is available from The Republican for $42.45 as well as other area venues including the Springfield Museums, The Cottage, The Odyssey Bookshop, Barnes & Noble and the Irish Cultural Center at Elms College. There is a related exhibit, "The Irish Legacy: Immigration and Assimilation in the Connecticut Valley during the Industrial Revolution," at the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum at the Quadrangle through Aug. 25 that includes educational programming.
Here is a soup, with the rutabaga included, from a column in The Republican by the late Jean O'Connell, who was the paper's food editor.
It makes 8 quarts or 32 one-cup servings. This is a large volume recipe, but it splits in half easily without disrupting the balance of flavors. Freezing the leftovers is another alternative.
Harvest soup
4 quarts chicken stock or broth, defatted
2 cups peeled rutabaga (yellow turnip)
2 cups peeled acorn squash cut in cubes
1 1/2 pounds carrots, scraped and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large yellow onion, cut intomedium dice
1 large red onion, cut into medium dice (about 1 3/4 cups)
4 medium leeks (white and light green part) cut into 1/2-inch rounds
1 large bunch of celery, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
1/2 medium-size green cabbage, cored and cut into 1/2-inch-wide slices
2 cans (28 ounces each) Italian plum tomatoes with their juice
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sweet basil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 pound zucchini, trimmed and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas
1 pound white mushrooms, trimmed and coarsely chopped
In a very large stockpot (or 2 pots), combine stock, rutabaga, acorn squash, carrots, sweet potato and potatoes over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil; reduce heat to moderate so that it bubbles lightly. Add both types of onions, the leeks, celery, cabbage and plum tomatoes. Stir in the bay leaf, basil, cumin, coriander and celery seed. Cook until the vegetables are somewhat tender, about 1 hour.
Stir in the zucchini, peas and mushrooms. Continue to cook for at least 30 minutes, adjusting the heat as ncessary. Overcooking will cause veggies to be mushy.
Makes 8 quarts or 32 one-cup servings.
Note: This is a large volume recipe, but it splits in half easily without disrupting the balance of flavors. Freezing the leftovers is another alternative.
A one-cup serving contains 105 calories; 1 gram fat; 5 grams protein; 19 grams carbohydrate; 32 milligrams Vitamin C; 4.8 milligrams beta carotene.