Hakurei Salad Turnips
Culinary Use, Storage, & Benefits
Vegetable Profile: Hakurei Salad Turnips
Description
These little turnips - also called salad turnips - are so mild, crisp, and delicious that they can be eaten whole like an apple. Turnips have a long and often under celebrated history. Tolerant of less than ideal soils, the turnip has gotten generations of people through poverty and less than ideal conditions. Turnips may be a humble hero, but they're also deserving of a place at the table even in prosperous times. Since they originated in Asia, they have been in use there and throughout Europe since prehistoric times.
Nutrition
Like other cruciferous vegetables, turnips contain high amounts of anticarcinogenic glucosinolates. They contain vitamins B and C, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and other trace minerals. They help relieve inflammation by clearing heat from the body, lessen mucus, and strengthen the cardiovascular system.
Storage
Turnips are generally a decent storage crop and will last in the crisper drawer for a few weeks in a water tight container. Young salad turnips may soften in less time. Make sure to remove the greens and use those within 1-3 days. If you recieve them already topped, simply store in the bag they came in.
Use
Grate or chop turnips raw and add to salads, or roast them to up their sweetness. They do well with absorbing other flavors of foods that they're cooked with, like onions and garlic.
Sources:
SpecialtyProduce.com
The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia by Rebecca Wood
Asparagus to Zucchini by Fairshare Coalition
Produce: A fruit and vegetable lover’s guide by Bruce Beck
Our own experience!
