TravelTalkOnline Forums People Talk Recipes Rutebagas

Love 'em and they are so delcious simply cooked and mashed, but a royal pita to peel and cut up. Anyone have any tips for peeling and cutting these big babies? I really want to add this side to our Thanksgiving menu. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" />

Sorry, Rutabagas is what I meant.

Best to "chunk" them first, then peel and cook. Just add S & P and butter when mashing.
Gotta get me some...................

Yepr... but try adding a Yam or a can of yams with syrup to the mash! and some cinnamon & nutmeg! YUMMMMMM!
If using a fresh mashed yam, we always add some honey to the mix!
Puts a mashed Turnip over the top!
It's a family staple! we do a lot of them every Fall, and freeze them in individual meal portions... so we have them all year!

What's the best way to peel and cut 'em up?

I cut the ends off with a very large, freshly-sharpened chef's knife, trying to stay very close to the ends so as not to have the knife get stuck & have to whack it on the countertop as if I was chopping wood! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Tonguea.gif" alt="" /> Then I set it on one of the flat ends, fileting the wax & skin off all the way around, flip it over & get the parts I missed.

To chunk it up, it's easiest to slice downward while it sits on one of those flat cut ends, keeping the slices no thicker than about 1/2", also to avoid that stuck-knife thing mentioned above! Once you have it all sliced, lay the slices out one at a time & cut them into dice.

Yes, it's a PITA, and I'm not sure there's a better way.

I don't like to add too much sweet stuff to my veggies so I throw in some cut-up carrot when I cook the rutabagas and that seems to mitigate whatever little bit of bitterness they might have had without covering their flavor. It also leaves some nice little orange bits in the mash, which is pretty!

Once the rutabagas are mashed, add butter, salt, pepper and sugar. The latter cuts the bitter flavor.

CARROTS! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> Sugar's not good for you! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Tonguea.gif" alt="" />

Don't even get me started on people who defile yams with marshmallows... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I found this suggestion on allrecipes.com


Has anyone tried this method? Any thoughts that it might work?

Well I'll be damned! I'm going to buy an extra one today & try it! I'm a little concerned because they're sold HEAVILY coated with wax, which will obviously melt in the microwave, and it's usually regular petroleum wax.

But it's worth a try!

Georgia,
The wax is there as a preservative...
They are fresh this time of year, so you should be able to find them without the wax most anywhere...
all the ones around here have no wax now...

I've never seen unwaxed except at farmer's markets & roadside stands. I'm in NC and it's a miracle when the store even HAS rutabagas! But when I lived in MA & SC I never saw unwaxed either- wish I had your supermarket! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> The turnips are unwaxed here but not the rutabagas.

I would think an organic market might have some unwaxed but the closest one of those to here (that isn't just seasonal) is almost 2 hours away...

In any case, I'm now on a mission! Thanks, all, for bringing this up!

I was going to suggest the microwave. It does soften them enough to cut.

You are right, my 'bagas are coated with wax too. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Hairy.gif" alt="" />
Please let us know how your experiment with the "extra" works out.

FYI- in my research, I read that cooking the 'bagas with the skin on can change the taste of the end product.

Do you think this would be the case if you nuke the 'bagas and then mash 'em?

Maybe it depends on how long you microwave them? Maybe you can just soften them a bit in the micorowave and not cook them through? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

A rutabaga IS a turnip... only waxed to preserve them after the season is over!
Same Thing!
There are a number of turnips... mostly on the East Coast we see small turnips and large turnips...
BOTH the waxed & fresh have purple tops and white bottoms...

Yeah, my grandmother always called them "turnips"... but I never buy the small, unwaxed ones because typically they're "white turnips" instead of "yellow turnips", which is what rutabagas are. I don't think they have the same "depth" of flavor. They are, however, MUCH easier to peel & chunk! So if you want something quite similar in flavor without the hassle of the "'bagas", yes, I'd go with the regular turnips!

(who knew there could be this much discussion on rutabagas!?) <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Is anyone but me surprised there have been 15 posts about Rutabagas?? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />

I'm not surprised!
You either love them or hate them!
For Deb & I, we make a ton every fall, freeze them in small amounts, for a side dish throughout the year!

Georgia, we get VERY large, unwaxed turnips on LI...
The small ones are just too much of a PITA to deal with!

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />
Sorry all I wanted to know when I started this thread was the tip to peeling and cutting 'em up... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Devil.gif" alt="" />

SuburbanDharma, did you experiment with nuking them? I am holding my breath waiting for your reply post :grim:

Everyone I've ever served them to says "I hate turnip", and then after trying them, they say, "Huh! Those were really good, how do you make them?"

I think most people who say they hate them have never even tried them!

Peconic, please mail me your supermarket!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Stop & Shop, Shop-Rite, Kings, Pathmark, King Kullen, Waldbaums, A&P...
Price Chopper & Hannaford in upstate NY...

BUT our first choice is always to get them from a local farmstand...

Turnips are a product of the NE... and are not good until after the first hard frost... before the first hard frost they are not nearly as sweet and they can be "woody"...
This (the "woodyness") has nothing to do with the size, but harvesting before the first hard frost...
Supplies down south are probably limited to supermarkets, and the chances are, you'll get them waxed there...
The differance is not that great... waxed turnips (or rudys) are pretty good...
unless you want to cook them in the oven... then the wax is a problem!

I actually found it easy to peel the bagas with a potato peeler. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />
"Chunking" is not a problem either. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" />

Brian, if I want to add a carrot or sweet potato do I cook in the same saucepan along with the 'bagas?

I usually cook them seprately... add carrots to the water about half way thru...
but we usually use yams... I do them in the nuke... and when done... mash them up with the turnips...

Lately though... we've just beem using canned yams...
Just dump the whole can in with some the syrup (to taste)...
MUCH easier and it tastes great... adds just enough extra sweetness...

BTW... the carrots and/or yams also go great in mashed Winter Squash! and they are really easy to do in the oven!

I used pre-packaged shredded carrots today- chopped them up into little confetti-sized bits & cooked them right in the same pot @ the same time. Little ff 1/2 & 1/2, butter & S&P- came out dee-lish!

Does anyone know how they will turn out if I coat them with a little oil and roast them in strips like sweet potato fries?

I also really like the ease of using Southland frozen turnip - it comes completely mashed and seasoned and is very good. I just defrost a few packages in the fridge, then dump into a casserole, and my guests are none the wiser that I didn't make them from scratch.

I would think turnips (rutabagas) have way too much moisture to make as fries...
They are good (mashed) mixed with mashed potatos (50/50) and an egg, made into patties (like a burger)...
lightly breaded and sauted over high heat with butter till they have a nice brown crust...
served with a dollop of sour cream and chives on top...

Thanks, Brian. I didn't mean they had to come out like fries, but just a roasted veggie. Sometimes I do trays of mixtures, like broccoli, red peppers, yellow squash, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. Just not sure how turnip would be.

OH... so do we with veggies, roasted all the time...
I have never tried roasting turnips...
I just don't think it would work so well...
Turnips are so full of moisture, they really only lend themselves to mashing...
and even then I put the mashed tirnips in a collander or strianer and let them drain the H2O for an hour or more before serving...
I don't boil turnips either, but steam them, to keep from adding as little water to the mix as possible...

If you try it, let us know how it works out!
Who knows... It might be really good! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

You can roast rutabagas (which are not the same as turnips, IMHO). I cube them and roast them along with other root veggies like sweet potatoes, and with winter squash. The rutabaga is denser, so I usually cut them into slightly smaller pieces so that everything cooks in the same time frame. As much as I love roasted veggies, I still prefer rutabagas boiled and mashed.

Turnips are smaller than rutabagas, and are never waxed. Rutabagas are sweeter than turnips, and are actually a cross between cabbage and turnips.

That said, my first husband, who came from Lynn, insisted that rutabagas were turnips; so clearly it's a regional distinction.

Georgia, the turnips we get on LI are the same size or larger than the waxed ones (rudebagas)...
The wax is there for preservation...
we also get the small turnips on LI, but they turn from the purple tops with white udersides to the brownish color when they get larger...
according to the farmers out there, they are the same thing...

Correct!

From Wikipedia: For the Drosophila gene, see Rutabaga (gene). For similar vegetables also called "turnip", see Turnip (disambiguation).

The rutabaga, swede (from Swedish turnip), or yellow turnip (Brassica napobrassica, or Brassica napus var. napobrassica, or Brassica napus subsp. rapifera) is a root vegetable that originated as a cross between the cabbage and the turnip (See Triangle of U). The roots are prepared for food in a variety of ways, and its leaves can also be eaten as a leaf vegetable.

I stand corrected! (I know, I should have GOOGLED it first!)...
<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Just found another recipe using rutabagas that received wonderful reviews... from Food and Wine,
March, 2009

[color:"blue"]Root Vegetable Gratin[/color]

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
1 butternut squash neck (2 1/4 pounds) from a large butternut squash, peeled
1 medium rutabaga (2 pounds), peeled and halved lengthwise
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375°. Using a mandoline, slice the potatoes and squash lengthwise 1/8 inch thick. Slice the rutabaga crosswise 1/8 inch thick.
Spray an 8-by-12-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange half of the potatoes in the dish, overlapping them slightly; season with salt and pepper. Top with half of the rutabaga and the squash, seasoning each layer. Repeat the layering. Pour the broth over and around the vegetables.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour, until the vegetables are almost tender when pierced. Remove the foil and pour the cream over the gratin. Bake for about 30 minutes longer, until the liquid has thickened.
Preheat the broiler. Mix the panko with the oil and season with salt and pepper; sprinkle over the gratin. Broil 3 inches from the heat for 2 minutes, until golden, rotating for even browning. Let the gratin stand for 10 minutes, then serve.

Whatever they're called they're delicious just with a pat of butter, salt and pepper all mooshy-gooshy! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> That's cooking term for mooshy-gooshy! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> Yumma. Hmmmm wish I had some right about now! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />


<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> Contessa

contessa, we buy so many LARGE turnips every fall, cook, mash them, and then freeze them...
we have enough (almost) til next years harvest!

Lotta work! peeling and cutting them all up (Uggh! worst part! but you get big forarms!)...
cooking (in a turkey fryer pot), whipping them, and seasoning in the Kitchen-Aid... and then packaging for freezing...
But well worth the work!
I don't think freezing hurts them at all...

I agree Brian, that is the worst part. I can't even peel them and cutting them up is so difficult. My Kitchen Aid (David) has to always do that for me. They are delicious after all the work!

David and I have the same job!
Cut/peel, it sucks! (but good for the forarms!)... the rest is easy!

I did try roasting them in small strips, and they came out great!