{"id":19619,"date":"2023-02-28T15:00:46","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T14:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardensillustrated.com\/?p=102184"},"modified":"2023-02-28T15:37:16","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T14:37:16","slug":"therese-coffey-says-eat-turnips-but-what-are-turnips-anyway","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/therese-coffey-says-eat-turnips-but-what-are-turnips-anyway\/","title":{"rendered":"Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Coffey says eat turnips but what are turnips anyway?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Environment secretary Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Coffey suggested recently we should be eating turnips in the tomato shortage, but what even is a turnip anyway? Our columnist Ken Thompson explains <\/p>

By Ken Thompson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 28 February 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Hardly had the words left Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Coffey\u2019s mouth<\/a> before I imagined the conversation at kitchen tables throughout the land: \u2018Turnips<\/a>? What does she mean? Turnips or swedes? And what\u2019s the difference anyway?\u2019<\/p>\n

I wish I could tell you that there are two species of Brassica<\/em><\/a>, and that one of them is a turnip and the other is a swede. If only life were so simple. So, for those of you who want the whole truth, here it is. For those of you who don\u2019t care, I can\u2019t say I blame you.<\/p>\n

Are swedes and turnips the same?<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start by leaving the minefield that is cabbage out of it, and instead focus on two very similar large, yellow-flowered brassicas, Brassica napus<\/em> and B. rapa<\/em>. If I told you that one of those plants is rape, I\u2019m sure you would hope it was B. rapa<\/em>, but you would be disappointed. It\u2019s B. napus<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The origins of it are a mystery <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>

To add to the confusion, rape isn\u2019t even a proper species \u2013 it\u2019s originally a hybrid between B. oleracea<\/em> (cabbage) and B. rapa<\/em>, and exists only in cultivation. Despite being unknown as a genuine wild plant, rape is now very common in the wild as an escape from cultivation, not least because, given the quantity of its seeds moved around the country, no other plant is quite so likely to have fallen (literally) off the back of a lorry.<\/p>\n

The B. napus cultivar was bred for its swollen root <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>

Anyway, you\u2019re now thinking, why are you telling me about rape, I thought this was meant to be about turnips? Well, not content with mixing up their Botanical<\/a> and English names so that no one can remember which is which, B. rapa<\/em> and B. napus<\/em> have another trick up their sleeves. The familiar B. napus<\/em> cultivar, bred for its oil-rich seeds, and which now turns so much of Britain yellow in early summer, is rape. But there is another B. napus<\/em> cultivar bred for its swollen root. The origins of this form are a mystery, but it was originally popular in Scandinavia and spread from there to the rest of Europe, hence the name Swedish turnip, or swede for short.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Swede? Or turnip?<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Getty<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

So, swede and rape are different cultivars of the same plant. And B. rapa,<\/em> which you will recall is one of the swede\u2019s parents, is the familiar turnip. Unlike rape, neither swede nor turnip escapes from cultivation much, although the wild turnip (lacking the swollen root) is a common wild plant.<\/p>\n

But are swedes and turnips roots? <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>

Now two questions for connoisseurs of turnip trivia. Pay attention at the back there.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

First, are swedes and turnips roots? Not really. Both are technically swollen hypocotyls, the hypocotyl being that part of the young plant above the true root and below the seed leaves, or cotyledons. Thus if you have friends who claim not to like root vegetables, you can safely feed them both swedes and turnips. If they complain, all you can do is tell them that you took them at their word, and they need to be a bit more careful about saying what they mean.<\/p>\n

If you have friends who claim not to like root vegetables, you can safely feed them both swedes and turnips <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>

Second, if presented with a turnip and a swede, how could you be sure of telling them apart? The key is that although both are swollen hypocotyls, the turnip is only hypocotyl, while the swede also incorporates the lower part of the stem. A turnip is therefore almost entirely smooth, but a swede always has a \u2018neck\u2019 bearing several concentric ridges near the top, which are the attachment scars of leaves.<\/p>\n

Turnips and swedes are similar, but different, brassica beasts, with intriguing heritages. But there\u2019s really no way of knowing which one Ms Coffey wants us to eat.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s more on growing vegetables in pots.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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