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When North America was first settled by the English at the end of the 16th century, the turnip had not become a mainstay of the home table in England. While present throughout the country, particularly in conjunction with hop fields, it was a crop for stock feed rather than human food. A vegetable mentioned by Roman agriculturalists Cato and Columnella, it may have been introduced by Roman colonists to England and naturalized into the local herbage after the Roman evacuation. The herbalist Gerard noted that its cultivation as a food centered in Hackney outside of London, and appeared in the city only at the Cheapside cross when women of that village carted it in after harvest. Its insinuation into the English diet may be due to the tastes of Dutch expatriates in England. Over the course of the 17th and 18th century in grew in regard as animal feed and human food. The county of Norfolk made it the basis of its highly reputable dairy and stock system. The poor of Wales made it a staple of home cookery. Arthur Young, the greatest English agronomist of the last half of the 18th century, campaigned tirelesslessly for its incorporation into the diet of sheep. At the time of the potato famine in Ireland, David F. Jones published Turnip Husbandry (1847) in Dublin, hoping to move the nation to its adoption as the basis of feed and diet. In the United States it enjoyed popularity in every region among every class of people throughout the nineteenth century.

Growing turnips required some craft then, particularly to avoid devastations of ‘the fly.’ The Turnip Fly (Haltica nemorum), small jumping beetle, devoured the seedling sprouts of the turnip killing plants before they become established. As a countermeasure to its depredations, experienced planters sped the process of vegetation. For quick germination of seed, the farmer soaked it in rain water for a day. Daring farmers warmed the water and then doused it in lamp oil or lime to impart a flavor offensive to ‘the fly.’ To quick-dry the seed, the farmer rolled it in ashes or plaster. In the 1830s traditional farmers sowed the seed broadcast, while experimentalists used a planting device, such as a dibble or a Bennett’s drill, to set the seed in regular rows; orderly arrangement made hoeing a much easier task. At the time of the first hoeing, plants were thinned to a spacing ranging from 14 inches to 2 feet depending upon the size of root desired. Crowding stunted growth in the roots. Turnips favored well ploughed soil that had been manured with rotted (old) dung and/or lime. Because turnips were usually intended as a fall-winter vegetable, the crop was sown in July in northern states, August in the middle Atlantic, and September in parts farther south. A maxim directed that, “the later turnips are grown the better they are for table.” Because of the late date for sowing, turnips usually were a second crop in a field during a season, following a grain or peas.

Early on the power of the turnip to fix nutrients in the soil as well as extract them made them valuable in rotations. The English agronomist Arthur Young advised that turnips be planted before crops of wheat and rye in a season on the field. In the United States, the favorite rotations placed it as a second crop, following field peas or wheat, and preceding buckwheat, rye, or wheat. During the second quarter of the 19th century the White Norfolk and the Yellow Bullock (or Scotch Yellow) were the favored varieties in cultivation, the former coming to maturity earlier than the latter. The White Norfolk possessed several distinctive virtues: it grew productively; its greens and root appealed greatly to sheep and cattle; it could over-winter in the ground, while the common turnip would spoil in frozen fields. Common turnips came in two basic types: the flat turnip and the globe. The flat turnips were further distinguished into green top and red top varieties. The white globe enjoyed increasing popularity during the middle decades of the 19th century, as did the Hanover variety. During the latter decades of the 19th century, when epicurean interest in the vegetable grew, the varieties began to be distinguished in the market and cookbooks by the color of their flesh rather than their configuration. Among the kitchen varieties of white fleshed turnips to emerge, the most reputable proved to be the “White Egg,” a quick-growing, smooth ellipsoid root with a sweet mild flavor, the “Jersey Turnip,” a parsnip shaped root with a clean nutty taste, the “Pomeranean White Globe,” cherished by cooks for the eye appeal of its perfectly spheroid roots. The Norfolk remained in favor because of the succulence of its greens, rivaled only by the “Seven Top” in the south. Regional preferences found expression in New England’s fondness for the “Sweet German” turnip, a hard-fleshed, sweet root known for its tolerance for cold weather. Southerners seeking an early crop turnip, planted the Early White Flate Ductch Strap-Leaved variety throughout the Reconstruction period. From the middle of the 18th century, farmers noticed that the quality of soil affected the flavor of turnips. William Ellis in the 1770s wrote that he found “that the clayey loams produced the largest and rankest-tasted turnips.” Sandy loams produced the sweetest.The Swedish turnip, or rutabaga, developed a distinguished reputation as a feed vegetable. While turnip roots cold be consumed raw by livestock, progressive farmers chopped and steamed them when using them as feed to aid digestion. Among traditional and experimental farmers a consensus reigned that turnips were fine food for horses, hogs, and sheep. Debate raged, however, whether turnips imparted an odd taste to butter and milk when fed to dairy cows.

1. John Rogers, The Vegetable Cultivator (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1843), p. 310.

2. Robert Sinclair, “On the Cultivation of Turnips,” American Farmer 8, 18 (July 21, 1826), p. 138.

3. Jesse Buel, “On the Culture of Turnips,” American Farmer 6, 8 (May 14, 1824), p. 62.

4. Arthur Young, Political Essays Concerning the Present State of the British Empire (London: W. Strahan & T. Cadell, 1772), p. 150.

5. D. Williamson, Jr., “On Turips—Various Kinds—Great Value of the ‘White Norfolk,’” American Farmer 6, 15 (July 2, 1824), p. 117.

6. Jules Arthur Harder, Harder’s Practical American Cookery, 1 (San Francisco, 1885), pp. 374-75.

7. William Ellis, Ellis’s Husbandry, 2 vols. (London: W. Nicholl, 1772) I: 433.

Early Purple Top Munich    History

a very handsome early turnip; white with bright purplish red top; becomes bitter with age.

White Egg    History

a quick growing, egg-shaped, perfectly smooth, pure white variety; flesh is very sweet, firm, and mild, never having the rank, strong taste of some varieties; new American sort, as of 1883.

Early White Stone    History

an English garden variety, round, firm, quick growing, medium-sized, and is cultivated extensively as an early market variety.

Jersey Navet    History

a delicate, sweet white turnip for table use. It is very popular in Paris markets, where it is esteemed one of the best; grows long, somewhat like a parsnip in form.

Early White Flat Dutch    History

a medium-sized, white, flat turnip, of quick growth, juicy; designed for table use, and is spongy and inferior when over-grown.

Early White Flat Dutch, Strap Leaved    History

most excellent, early, garden variety, much used in the Southern States. Sweet and tender, grown for table use.

Early Purple Top, Strap Leaved    History

Similar to the above variety, though purple.

D.M. Ferry & Co’s Improved Purple Top, Strap Leaved    History

Very early variety, and rapidly becoming the a purely American variety.

Cow Horn, or Long White    History

carrot-like in form, purely white except for a shade of green near the top; delicate flavor, very rapid growth; increasingly in demand every year.

Improved Purple Top Mammoth    History

globe-shaped, large, firm, juicy, quick-growing and hardy.

Large White Flat Norfolk    History

a standard sort for field culture, and is extensively grown all over the world for stock feeding. It is round, flat, white, and often attains a very large size. The seed should be sown a little earlier than table sorts. It is allowed to stand out during the winter at the south and south-west, where the tops are used for greens.

Red Top Flat Norfolk    History

a handsome, flat shaped root, purple above ground, with small top and tap root; grown both for table use and stock, differing but little in shape from the Purple Top strap Leaved, though not so fine of quality.

Pomeranean White Globe    History

Is one of the most productive kind; in good, rich soil, the roots will frequently grow to twelve pounds in weight; it is of the most perfect globe shape; skin white and smooth, leaves dark green.

Purple Top White Globe    History

A variety of the purple top flat turnip, from which it originated; of globular shape, nearly as large as the Pomeranean White Globe.

Sweet German    History

very popular in many sections of the U.S., notably in the New England States. It partakes largely of the nature of the ruta baga, and should be sown a month earlier than the flat turnips. Flesh is white, hard, sweet, and it keeps nearly as well as the ruta baga.

Seven Top    History

grown extensively in the south for the tops, which are used for greens. Very hardy, and will grow all winter, but does not produce a good bulb, and is only recommended for the tops.

Early Yellow Montmagny    History

a new early sort, the most beautiful of the yellow-fleshed varieties. Leaves medium-sized, green-stained with purple; bulb oval, medium sized, clear yellow stained with bright purple at the top; flesh yellow, fine-grained, sweet and tender. Among the earliest and promises to be an exceedingly popular sort.

Large Amber Globe    History

among the best of varieties, either for table use or for a field crop for stock; Flesh yellow, fine-grained and sweet; yellow skin color, with green top. Large, and is popular in the South.

Orange Jelly, or Robertson’s Golden Ball    History

Undoubtedly among the most delicate and sweetest yellow fleshed turnips yet introduced. Firm, hard and of most excellent flavor. Keeps well, and as a table variety is superior.

Purple Top Yellow Aberdeen    History

Roots medium size, round form; flesh pale yellow, tender and sugary; hardy and productive, and keeps well. An old, esteemed variety, considered as approaching very nearly to the ruta baga in hardiness and firmness of texture.

Early Yellow Finland    History

an early yellow fleshed variety, medium, flat-shaped; fine-grained, sugary; said to be less troubled by worms eating the roots, than most sorts.

Early Yellow Malta    History

a beautiful, symmetrical, early, medium-size variety; skin very smooth, bright orange yellow, fine grained, sweet and tender. One of the best yellow summer turnips in every respect.

Long Red Tankard (Hardy Swede)    History

excellent for field culture.

Long White French    History

firm and sweet; table or stock; roots produce entirely under ground.

Briggs’ Premium Purple Top Mammoth (Briggs & Bro.’s)    History

hardy, of quick growth, large, and an Immense cropper; root smooth, firm, juicy, sweet, firm texture.

Yellow Swede or Ruta Baga    History

This, and the following form a distinct class, and should be sown at least a month earlier than the preceding; oblong; dull reddish color above ground, but yellow underneath; hardier than the common turnip.

White Red Top    History

good size, fine for table or cattle.

Skirving’s Purple Top    History

for stock or family use.

Laing’s Purple Top    History

one of the earliest; solid, fine flavor.

Banyholm Swede    History

much used in England, and has an excellent reputation among our (Briggs & Bro.’s) customers in Canada.

Shamrock Swede    History

said to be the best purple-topped Swede in cultivation.

Carter’s Imperial Hardy Purple Top Yellow Ruta Baga    History

Flesh yellow, solid, firm, sweet and rich; yields heavily, with no tendency to long necks.

Large Ovoid Purple Top Swede    History

is the result of a long selection of roots to obtain the highest perfection Of weight, quality, purity, and permanence of type. In size it is mammoth, and is a very heavy Cropper. It closely resembles the D.M. Ferry & Co’s celebrated Improved Purple Top Yellow Ruta Baga, except in shape and size, this variety being long and more oblong.

D.M. Ferry & Co’s Improved Purple Top Yellow Ruta Baga    History

The best variety of Swedish Turnip in cultivation. Hardy and productive; flesh yellow, of solid texture, sweet, slightly oblong, color deep purple above, and bright yellow under the gound.

Bangholm Ruta Baga    History

a very superior variety in form and quality; held in high esteem in England; large, small neck, yields well. Flesh yellow, sweet and solid; skin yellow, with purple top.

Sweet Russian, or White Ruta Baga    History

large, flesh white, solid, sweet and rich; keeps better than any of the preceding, and is very popular.

Turnip Tops 1 (Virginia Housewife 1838)    History

Are the shoots which grow out, (in the spring.) from the old turnip roots. Put them in cold water an hour before they are dressed; the more water they are boiled in, the better they will look; if boiled in a small quantity of water, they will taste bitter; when the water boils, put in a small handful of salt, and then your vegetables; they are still better boiled with bacon in the Virginia style: if fresh and young, they will be done in about Twenty minutes—drain them on the back of a sieve, and put them under the bacon.

Turnip Tops 2 (Godey’s Lady’s Book Receipts 1870)    History

Boil thoroughly, with plenty of water, salt, and soda in due proportions; drain and pass through a hair sieve. Melt a piece of butter, to which add a little flour and the pulp of your turnip tops; stir on the fire a few minutes, adding a little milk or cream, and a little broth or stock, with pepper or grated nutmet to taste. When a nice consistency, not too thick, dress on a dish as you would spinach, and serve with fried sippets of bread around it. If properly cooked, this dish has a better color than spinach, and a very pleasant, nutty, bitter taste.

Turnips (Virginia Housewife 1838)    History

Peel off half an inch of the stringy outside—full grown turnips will take about an hour and a half gentle boiling; try them with a fork, and when tender, take them up, and lay them on a sieve till the water is thoroughly drained from them; send them up whole; to very young turnips, leave about two inches of green top; the old ones are better when the water is changed.

To Mash Turnips (Virginia Housewife 1838)    History

When they are boiled quite tender, squeeze them as dry as possible—put them into a sauce pan, mash them with a wooden spoon, and rub them through a colander; add a little bit of butter, keep stirring them till the butter is melted and well mixed with them, and they are ready for the table.

Puree of Turnips (Virginia Housewife 1838)    History

Pare a dozen large turnips, slice them, and put them into a stew-pan, with four ounces of butter and a little salt; set the pan over a moderate fire, turn them often with a wooden spoon; when they look white, add a ladle full of veal gravey, stew them till it becomes thick; skim it, and pass it through a sieve; put the turnips in a dish, and pour the gravy over them.

Ragout of Turnips (Virginia Housewife 1838)    History

Peel as many small turnips as will fill a dish; put them into a stew pan with some butter and a little sugar, set them over a hot stove, shake them about, and turn them till they are a good brown; pour in a half a pint of rich high seasoned gravy; stew the turnips till tender, and serve them with the gravy poured over them.

Turnip Soup 1 (Carter 1803)    History

Pare a bunch of Turnips (save out three or four) put them into a gallon of water, with half an ounce of white pepper, an onion stuck with cloves, three blades of mace, half a nutmeg bruised, a good bunch of sweet herbs, and a large crust of bread. Boil them an hour and a half, then pass them through a sieve; clean a bunch of celery, but it small, and put it into your turnips and liquor, with two of the turnips you saved, and two young carrots cut in dice; cover it close, and let it stew; then cut two turnips and carrots in dice, flour them, and fry them brown in butter, with two large onions cut thin, and fried likewise, put them all into your soup, with some vermicelli; let it boil softly, till your celery is tender, and your soup is good. Season it with salt to your palate.

Turnip Soup 2 (American Domestic Cookery 1823)    History

Take off a knuckle of veal all the meat that can be made into cutlets, &c., and set the remainder on to stew with an onion, a bunch of herbs, a blade of mace, and five pints of water; cover it close: and let it do on a slow fire, four or five hours at least. Strain it, and set by till next day; then take the fat and sediment from it, and simmer it with turnips cut into small dice till tender, seasoning it with salt and pepper. Before serving, rub down half a spoonful of flour with half a pint of good cream, and the size of a walnut of butter. Let a small roll simmer in the soup till wet through, and serve this with it. It should be as thick as middling cream.

Porridge of Turnips (Practical American Cookery 1860)    History

Pare and cut up several turnips into slices, put them on to boil in milk and water until tender, strain them on the back of a sieve, throw away the liquor, and rub through the turnips; when done put them into a stewpan with a piece of butter, a spoon full of flour, a gill of cream, a little sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper.

Turnip Pie (American Domestic Cookery 1823)    History

Season mutton chops with salt and pepper, reserving the ends of the neck-bones to lay over the turnips which must be cut into small dice, and put on the steaks. Put two or three good spoonfuls of milk in. You may add sliced onion. Cover with a crust.

To Boil Turnips with Meat (Kentucky Housewife 1839)    History

Boil some fresh beaf, or corned or salted pork, till about half done, skimming it well. Peel some turnips, slice and rinse them clean, and put them in to boil with the meat, taking care to have plenty of water. When they are done, drain them, mash them fine and serve them in the dish under the meat. If the turnips are young and very small, do not peel, but scrape them; let them remain whole, leaving on them a short bit of the tops; boil them with the meat as before directed. Serve them whole in a deep dish, sprinkle on some pepper and pour over them a few spoonfuls of melted butter.

To Stew Turnips with Meat (Kentucky Housewife 1839)    History

Having prepared some fresh beef or pork, stew it in a small quantity of water till at least half done, carefully removing the scum as it rises. Peel some turnips, slice them tolerably thing, rinse and stew them with the meat till done soft: then dish the meat, add to the turnips a small portion of pepper, and a cup of sweet cream, mash them fine, stirring them till they get nearly dry, and is a smooth pulp,, then put it in a deep dish, and make it smooth. Turnips will keep well through the winter, buried in heaps in the garden.

Stewed Turnips, Convent Style (Physiology of Taste 1885)    History

Pare and cut one dozen Turnips in quarters, trim the edges, parboil them for five minutes and then drain them. Put them in a saucepan with a pint of chicken broth, a little salt,, a pinch of sugar and four ounces of marrow cut in small squares, cover the saucepan and let them cook until thoroughly done when the broth should be three-quarters reduced. Then set them on the side of the fire and add two ounces of butter and a cup of cream, into which dilute the yolks of four raw eggs. Toss the whole well over until the butter is melted. Serve them immediately as they must not be allowed to remain on the fire after the eggs are mixed.

Duckling with Turnips (Practical Housekeeper 1857)    History

Is a very favorite dish among the middle classes in France. Procure a duck trussed with the legs turned inside, which put into a stewpan with two ounces of butter and a quarter of a pound of streaked bacon, let remain over a fire, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, when add a tablespoonful of flour mixed well, and a quart of broth or water: stir round gently until boiling, when skim and add twenty button onions a bunch of parsley, with a bay-leaf, and two cloves., let simmer a quarter of an hour, then add about forty pieces of good turnips cut into moderate-sized square pieces, having previously fried them of a light yellow color in a little butter or lard, and drained them upon a sieve; dress the duck upon a dish as before, season the sauce with a little pepper, salt, and sugar: reduce until rather thick, a thin sauce not suiting a dish of this description; the turnips must not, however, be in puree; sauce over and serve.

Turnip Bread (Southern Gardener and Receipt Book 1860)    History

Let the turnips be peeled, and boiled in water till soft and tender; then strongly press out the juice, mix well together, and when dry, beat or pound very fine, and mix with their weight of wheat meal; then season as you other bread, and knead it up thin, letting the dough remain a little to ferment; make the dough into loaves, and bake it like common bread.