These root vegetables are usually grown in temperate climates. The root and leaves are both edible for this plant. Its common types range in diameter from 1–5 inches.
They are often appreciated for their attractive color combination of white to pale yellow with shades of purple. They taste somewhat astringent and often pungent to some people until cooked.
Though, visibly turnips don’t seem similar to cabbage, kale or mustard but are closely linked to them. They have round ball like the bottom.
These veggies are easy to plant and can easily be planted using seeds in moist well-drained soils and full sun regions. Some people prefer baby turnips over full grown ones. The baby turnips can mean smaller turnips that do not grow much in size while they can also be turnips uprooted before complete maturity.
Types of Turnips
The various types of turnips are:
1) Purple Top Turnips
It is one of the most standard varieties with white globular base and purple tops. It can grow big but since this type tastes its best when around 3 inches in diameter. Thus, it is uprooted then only.
2) Scarlet Queens
This turnip has smooth textured white flesh and bright red peel over it. It is a hybrid and is not naturally grown.
3) Tokyo Cross
It is the winner of the All-America selection and is a popular hybrid that is all white in its appearance. Their buttery flavor is best achieved when boiled.
4) Market Express
This plant also produces pure white roots. Thus, the turnips have no color but white, and they mature early.
5) White Knight
As the name suggests, these turnips are also pure white. Their unique feature is the fact that these aren’t globular but flattened.
6) Alltop
This type of turnip produces high yield and produces only green turnips.
7) Just Right
The just right variety is easy to plant in the fall season and has pure white turnips with smooth peels.
8) GilFeather
These turnips are egg-shaped and have creamy white flesh. They are a cross between the rutabaga and the turnip. The top of these turnips are usually dark and almost resemble the mustard greens.
9) Seven Top
More than the root of the plant these are grown for the dark green leaves which are edible and large. The roots of this plant can also be consumed but, they are not as flavourful as the greens.
10) Shogoin
These plants are used for its greens as well as the white turnip it produces.
11) Golden Ball
The golden balls are sweet turnips. These turnips usually have yellow flesh. These are nearly perfectly round and have a smooth texture to their skin.
12) Topper
These turnips produce fast and yield great produce during harvest.
13) Hakurei
These turnips are the sweetest of all and are produced fast too.
14) Purple Top Milan
This turnip has flat roots and purple marks on its top.
15) Snow Ball
This is a Japanese heirloom turnip with white flesh and skin. It needs a long time for harvesting.
16) Green Globe
The green globe does produce large bulbs but needs longer to mature. They are sturdy even during winters.
17) Manchester Market
It has a globe-shaped flesh and smooth texture with white roots and green tops.
18) White Lady
It is attractive, white and has a diameter of around 2.5 – 3 inches. The flesh is pure white and grows in a meager 35 days after planting.
19) Amber Globe
These turnips have pale yellow flesh and are round in shape. They are sweet to eat.
20) Baby Bunch Turnips
These cute baby turnips are pure white color and have firm flesh. Their taste is like a mix of the taste of an apple and a reddish.
With so many varieties of turnips, it gets difficult to understand each separately. Thus, for the ease of classification the turnips are categorized as:
Early Harvest Turnips
1) If you love turnips but cannot wait for the harvest, then these early growing types are just the best for you. The examples are Hakurei, the white Tokyo, etc.
2) Colorful Turnips
Though, most turnips have white flesh some of them are colorful too. For example the scarlet queen, Gill feather, golden ball and the green turnip.
3) All White Turnips
These turnips have white flesh and are strikingly attractive. Some of its examples are the white lady, the Tokyo cross, and the white knight.
4) Turnips for Greens
As noticed above, some varieties are just harvested for their green tops rather than the roots, and these come under this category. The roots can also be consumed but, they will not be as flavourful as the leaves. The topper and Shogoin are the two prominent examples.
5) Standard Turnips
These turnips have skin that is purple on top and fades down to all – white flesh. All the purple-topped turnips fall under this category. All these turnips have a standard pungent, spicy taste to them.
Few examples are Royal Globe, Royal Crown, Purple Top, Purple Top Milan and the Purple Top White Globe.
Conclusion
These starchy vegetables are packed with goodness. They are amazing for consumption in various forms and are a boon for our overall well-being.
These are cruciferous in nature and help in the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases. Their regular consumption also inhibits the growth of tumor cells. They are healthy for our bones, heart, and lungs due to their high nutritive values. The high fiber content in turnips assists the process of digestion.
Not only are they healthy for our organs but, their high antioxidant content makes them a perfect solution for prevention and delay of skin aging and also keeping your beautiful eyes healthy.
If all of this doesn’t compel you enough to grab one turnip and get munching then remember Thomas Edison had quoted that “The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.” So accept this as the future and let your body be healthier than ever.