The speciesB. napusoriginated as a hybrid between thecabbage (B. oleracea) and the turnip (B. rapa). Rutabaga roots are eaten as human food in various ways, and the leaves can be eaten as aleaf vegetable. The roots and tops are also used for livestock,fed directly in the winter orforaged in the field during the other seasons. Scotland, Northern and Western England, Wales, theIsle of Man, and Ireland had a tradition of carving the roots intoJack-o'-lanterns atHalloween.
Harvested rootsHarvested roots waiting to be prepared
Rutabaga has many national and regional names.Rutabaga is the common North American term for the plant. This comes from theSwedish dialectal wordrotabagge,[1] fromrot, 'root' +bagge, 'lump, bunch'.[2] In the U.S., the plant is also known asSwedish turnip oryellow turnip.[3][4]
InScotland, it is known asturnip,tumshie (also used as a pejorative term for a foolish or stupid person), orneep (fromOld Englishnæp, Latinnapus).[6] Some areas of south-east Scotland, such as Berwickshire and Roxburghshire, still use the termbaigie, possibly a derivative of the Swedish dialectal wordrotabagge.[7] The termturnip is also used for thewhite turnip (Brassica rapa ssprapa).[6][8]
Some will also refer to both swede and (white) turnip as justturnip (this word is also derived fromnæp).[8] In north-east England, turnips and swedes are colloquially calledsnanniessnadgers,snaggers (archaic) ornarkies.[9] Rutabaga is also known asmoot in the Isle of Man and theManx language word for turnip isnapin.[10][failed verification]
The first known printed reference to the rutabaga comes from the Swiss botanistGaspard Bauhin in 1620, where he notes that it was growing wild in Sweden. It is often considered to have originated inScandinavia,Finland orRussia.[11] According to theNatural Resources Institute Finland (now Luke), rutabaga orlanttu was most likely bred on more than one occasion in Northern Europe around the 16th century. Studies by its research institute have shown thatlanttu was developed independently in Finland and Sweden from turnip and cabbage in connection with seed cultivation.[12] There are contradictory accounts of how rutabaga arrived in England. Some sources say it arrived in England from Germany, while other accounts support Swedish origins. According toJohn Sinclair, the root vegetable arrived in England from Germany around 1750.[13] Rutabaga arrived inScotland by way of Sweden around 1781.[14]
An article inThe Gardeners' Chronicle suggests that the rutabaga was introduced more widely to England in 1790. Introduction toNorth America came in the early 19th century with reports of rutabaga crops inIllinois as early as 1817.[15] In 1835, a rutabaga fodder crop was recommended to New York farmers in the Genesee River valley.[16]
Rutabaga was considered afood of last resort in both Germany and France due to its association with food shortages inWorld War I andWorld War II. Boiled stew with rutabaga and water as the only ingredients (Steckrübeneintopf) was a typical food in Germany during the famines and food shortages of World War I caused by theAllied blockade (theSteckrübenwinter orTurnip Winter of 1916–17) and between 1945 and 1949. As a result, many older Germans had unhappy memories of this food.[17]
Rutabaga has a complextaxonomic history. The earliest account comes from the Swiss botanistGaspard Bauhin, who wrote about it in his 1620Prodromus.[15]Brassica napobrassica was first validly published byCarl Linnaeus in his 1753 workSpecies Plantarum as avariety ofB. oleracea:B. oleracea var.napobrassica.[18] It has since been moved to other taxa as a variety,subspecies, or elevated to species rank. In 1768, a Scottish botanist promoted Linnaeus' variety to species rank asBrassica napobrassica inThe Gardeners Dictionary.[19]
In the Netherlands, rutabaga is traditionally served boiled and mashed. Adding mashedpotatoes (and, in some recipes, similarly mashed vegetables or fruits) makesstamppot 'mash pot', a dish often served alongside smoked sausage. Similar dishes are known in the southern low countries, down to and including Brussels, asstoemp.
During the difficult days of World War II, rutabaga and rutabaga juice were an important part of the local diet, and were consumed in large quantities.[21]
In Sweden and Norway, rutabaga is cooked withpotato and sometimescarrot, and mashed withbutter and either stock or, occasionally,milk orcream, to create a puree calledrotmos (Swedish, literally 'root mash') orkålrabistappe (Norwegian).Onion is occasionally added. In Norway,kålrabistappe is an obligatory accompaniment to many festive dishes, includingsmalahove,pinnekjøtt,raspeball and saltedherring. In Sweden,rotmos is often eaten together with cured and boiledham hock, accompanied bymustard. This classic Swedish dish is calledfläsklägg med rotmos.
Finns eat and cook rutabaga in a variety of ways. Rutabaga is the major ingredient in the popular Christmas dishlanttulaatikko (rutabaga casserole), one of the three main casseroles served during Finnish Christmas, alongside the potato and carrot casseroles.
Uncooked and thinlyjulienned rutabaga is often served as a side dish salad in school and workplace lunches.Raisins or cannedpineapple in light syrup are often added to the rutabaga salad. Sometimes, thinly sliced rawcarrots are mixed with rutabaga.
Finns use rutabaga in most dishes that call for a root vegetable. Many Finnish soup bases consist of potatoes, carrots, and rutabagas.
Finnish cuisine also roasts, bakes, boils, and grills rutabagas. Oven-baked root vegetables are another home-cooking classic in Finland: rutabaga, carrots, beetroots, and potatoes are roasted in the oven with salt and oil.Karelian hot pot (karjalanpaisti) is a popular slow-cooking stew with root vegetables and meat cooked for a long time in a Dutch oven.
Finnish supermarkets sell alternativepotato chips made from root vegetables, such as rutabagas, beetroots and carrots.
Rutabagas are also an ingredient inlanttukukko (rutabaga-kukko, a traditionalSavonian andKarelian dish).
In England, swede is boiled with carrots and mashed or pureed with butter and ground pepper. The flavoured cooking water is often retained for soup or as an addition to gravy. Swede is also a component of the popular condimentBranston Pickle. The swede is also one of the four traditional ingredients of thepasty originating inCornwall.
In Scotland, separately boiled and mashed, swede (neeps) and potatoes are served as "neeps andtatties" (tatties being theScots word for potatoes), in a traditionalBurns supper, together with the main course ofhaggis (the Scottish national dish). Neeps mashed with potatoes are calledclapshot. Roughly equal quantities of neeps and tatties are boiled in salted water and mashed with butter. Seasoning can be augmented with black pepper. Onions are never used. Regionally, neeps are a common ingredient in soups and stews.
Swede is an essential vegetable component of the traditional Welsh lamb broth calledcawl. A mash produced using just potato and swede is known asponsh maip in the North-East of the country,[22] asmwtrin on the Llyn peninsula and asstwnsh rwden in other parts.[23]
In Canada, they are considered winter vegetables, as, along with similar vegetables, they can be kept in a cold area or cellar for several months. They are primarily used as a side dish. They are also used as filler in foods such asmincemeat andChristmas cake. In Newfoundland, it is served withJiggs dinner, and often included in soups, stews, and meat pies.
Children helping harvest turnip and swede inŌpaki, New Zealand
In New Zealand, they are more commonly available in winter but can be easily purchased for much of the year. It is thought they best grow inSouthland,[24] where the winters are colder. They are usually served mashed with butter but are often added to other dishes likecasseroles or bakes.[citation needed]
In the US, rutabagas are not widely eaten but may be found as part ofstews orcasseroles, served mashed with carrots, or baked in apasty. They are sometimes included in theNew England boiled dinner.
Rutabaga and other cyanoglucoside-containing foods (includingcassava,maize (corn),bamboo shoots,sweet potatoes, andlima beans) releasecyanide, which is subsequently detoxified intothiocyanate. Thiocyanate inhibitsthyroidiodide transport and, at high doses, competes with iodide in the organification process within thyroid tissue.Goitres may develop when there is a dietary imbalance of thiocyanate-containing food in excess of iodine consumption, and these compounds can contribute tohypothyroidism.[27][28][29][30] Yet, there have been no reports of ill effects in humans from the consumption ofglucosinolates from normal amounts ofBrassica vegetables.[citation needed] Glucosinolate content inBrassica vegetables is around one percent of dry matter. These compounds also cause the bitter taste of rutabaga.[31]
As with watercress, mustard greens, turnip, broccoli, and horseradish, human perception of bitterness in rutabaga is governed by agene affecting theTAS2R bitter receptor, which detects the glucosinolates in rutabaga. Sensitive individuals with the genotype PAV/PAV (supertasters) find rutabaga twice as bitter as insensitive subjects (AVI/AVI). The difference for the mixed type (PAV/AVI) is insignificant for rutabaga.[32] As a result, sensitive individuals may find some rutabagas too bitter to eat.
Other chemical compounds that contribute to flavour and odour include glucocheirolin, glucobrassicanapin, glucoberteroin, gluconapoleiferin, and glucoerysolin.[33] Severalphytoalexins that aid in defence againstplant pathogens have also been isolated from the rutabaga, including three novel phytoalexins that were reported in 2004.[34]
Rutabaga contains significant amounts ofvitamin C: 100 g contains 25 mg, 30% of the daily recommended dose.[35]
The roots and tops of "swedes" came into use as a forage crop in the early nineteenth century, used as winter feed forlivestock. They may be fed directly (chopped or from ahopper), or animals may be allowed to forage the plants directly in the field.[36]
A traditional Irish Halloween turnip (rutabaga) lantern on display in theMuseum of Country Life, Ireland
People in Northern England, West England, Ireland, and Scotland have long carved turnips and often use them as lanterns to ward off harmful spirits.[37] In the Middle Ages, rowdy bands of children roamed the streets in masks carrying carved turnips known in Scotland as "tumshie heads".[38][39] In modern times, turnips are often carved to look as sinister and threatening as possible and are put in the window or on the doorstep of a house onHalloween to ward off evil spirits.[40][41]
Sincepumpkins became readily available in Europe in the 1980s, they have taken over this role to a large extent.[42] In the Isle of Man, turnip lanterns are still carved atHop-tu-Naa (Manx equivalent of Halloween), lit with a candle or electric torch, and carried from house to house by some children, with the accompanying Hop tu Naa song; hoping for money or treats of food.[10][43][44] The smell of burning turnip is an evocative part of the event.
^Harvey, Nigel (1949). "The Coming of the Swede to Great Britain: An Obscure Chapter in Farming History".Agricultural History.23 (4):286–288.ISSN0002-1482.JSTOR3740589.
^Delange F, Iteke FB, Ermans AM.Nutritional factors involved in the goitrogenic action of cassava. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre, 1982.
^Braverman LE, Utiger RD.Werner and Ingbar's The Thyroid: A Fundamental and Clinical Text, 6th Edition 1991. J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pp. 371–2.
^Pedras, M. S. C.; Montaut, S.; Suchy, M. (2004). "Phytoalexins from the crucifer rutabaga: structures, syntheses, biosyntheses, and antifungal activity".J. Org. Chem.69 (13):4471–4476.doi:10.1021/jo049648a.PMID15202903.
^"Rutabagas". Healthaliciousness.com.Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved15 September 2012.
^Rogers, Nicholas (2002). "Festive Rights: Halloween in the British Isles".Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. pp. 43, 48. Oxford University Press.
^Baxter, I. A., Schröder, M. J. A., and Bower, J. A. (1999), "The influence of socio-economic background on perceptions of vegetables among Scottish primary school children",Food Quality and Preference,10 (4–5):261–272,doi:10.1016/S0950-3293(98)00042-1{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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