Turnips are one of the popular soul foods that people add to complete their main dishes or simply cook them as a side dish. The turnip greens are a bit sweet when young. However, the aged ones are a bit tough and can be strong-tasting. The peak season of turnips is from October to February but you can actually get them all year round. Make sure to choose those with a good even color and those that still look crisp. Before you prepare them, make sure to wash them thoroughly and remove and ribs before you cook them. They are a great source of Vitamin A and C and also have Calcium, Iron, and Riboflavin in it. If you’d like to learn how to cook turnips, here are two ways on how to cook them. Let’s start with the pickled turnips.
Turnips
- Pickled Turnips
Wondering how to cook turnips? One ways is to make pickled turnips. To do this, you will need the following ingredients:
- 5 quarts of water
- 4 tbsp salt
- 1 large pickling jar
- 5 turnips, medium size
- 1 beet, medium size
Let’s begin by boiling the 5 quarts of water and then letting it cool to room temperature. When cool, place it in the pickling jar. Add in salt until it is completely dissolved. On the other hand, wash and scrub your turnips and beets. Trim and quarter the turnips while you peel and slice the beets into ½ inch thick slices. Now, place the beets and the turnips in the jar with the salted water. Let it stand there for 4 weeks. If you’re not yet serving them, leave the turnips in the water until you are ready to eat. If you’re serving them, remove the turnips from the water and let it drip dry before putting in a serving dish.
- Skillet Turnips
If you want more ways to learn how to cook turnips, here is another great dish to prepare. But first, here are the ingredients:
- 1 ½ lbs white turnips
- 3 tbsp butter or margarine
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 c chopped onion
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
First prepare your turnips by washing them, paring, and cutting into cubes, preferably about ¼ inch sizes. Now, make sure to grab a medium skillet with a tight fitting lid. Add the turnips, a tablespoon of butter, the sugar, salt, and a half cup of water. Cover the skillet and cook over medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. On another skillet, heat the rest of the butter and add the onions, parsley, and then the lemon juice. Cook it until the onion is done. Afterwards, toss the onion mixture with the turnips.