View source for Turnip

{{Short description|Type of root vegetable}}
{{About|the white turnip (''Brassica rapa rapa'')|other vegetables known as "turnip", and other uses|Turnip (disambiguation)}}
{{Infraspeciesbox
| name = Turnip
| image = Turnip 2622027.jpg
| image_caption = Turnip roots
| genus = Brassica
| species = rapa
| varietas = rapa
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]|
}}

The '''turnip''' or '''white turnip''' (''[[Brassica rapa]]'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a [[root vegetable]] commonly grown in [[temperate climate]]s worldwide for its white, fleshy [[taproot]]. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as [[fodder|feed]] for [[livestock]]. The name ''turnip'' {{ndash}} used in many regions {{ndash}} may also be used to refer to [[rutabaga]] (or ''neep'' or ''swede''), which is a different but related vegetable.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/jan/25/neeps-swede-or-turnip | work=The Guardian | first=Susan | last=Smillie | title=Are 'neeps' swedes or turnips? | date=25 January 2010}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The origin of the word ''turnip'' is uncertain, though it is hypothesised that it could be a [[compound (linguistics)|compound]] of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a [[lathe]] and ''neep'', derived from Latin ''napus'', the word for the plant. According to [[An Universal Etymological English Dictionary]], ''turn'' refers to "round ''napus'' to distinguish it from the napi, which were generally long".<ref>{{cite web| title = An universal etymological English dictionary| url =https://archive.org/details/universaletymolo00bailuoft/page/n867/mode/2up?q=turnip | website =Internet Archive | date = | access-date =21 October 2023 }}</ref>

== Description ==
[[File:Hakurei turnips (49856034022).jpg|thumb|A bunch of Hakurei turnips]]
The most common type of turnip is mostly white-skinned, apart from the upper {{convert|1|to|6|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=off}}, which protrude above the ground and are purple or red or greenish where the sun has hit. This above-ground part develops from stem tissue but is fused with the root.{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}} The interior flesh is entirely white. The root is roughly globular, from {{convert|5|-|20|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} in diameter, and lacks side roots. Underneath, the [[taproot]] (the normal root below the swollen storage root) is thin and {{convert|10|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} or more in length; it is often trimmed off before the vegetable is sold. The leaves grow directly from the above-ground shoulder of the root, with little or no visible crown or neck (as found in [[rutabaga]]s).{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

Turnip [[spring greens|leaves]] are sometimes eaten as "turnip greens" ("turnip tops" in the UK), and they resemble [[Brassica juncea|mustard greens]] (to which they are closely related) in flavor. Turnip greens are a common side dish in southeastern U.S. cooking, primarily during late fall and winter. Smaller leaves are preferred. Varieties of turnip grown specifically for their leaves resemble mustard greens and have small roots. These include [[rapini]] (broccoli rabe), [[bok choy]], and [[Chinese cabbage]]. Similar to raw [[cabbage]] or [[radish]], turnip leaves and roots have a pungent flavor that becomes milder after cooking.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Turnip roots weigh up to {{convert|1|kg|lb|0|abbr=off}}, although they are usually harvested when smaller. Size is partly a function of variety and partly a function of the length of time a turnip has grown.

== Nutrition ==
{{nutritionalvalue | name = Turnip greens, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt
| kJ=84
| water=93.2 g
| protein=1.1 g
| fat=0.2 g
| carbs=4.4 g
| fiber=3.5 g
| sugars=0.5 g
| calcium_mg=137
| iron_mg=0.8
| magnesium_mg=22
| phosphorus_mg=29
| potassium_mg=203
| sodium_mg=29
| manganese_mg=0.337
| vitC_mg=27.4
| thiamin_mg=0.045
| riboflavin_mg=0.072
| niacin_mg=0.411
| pantothenic_mg=0.274
| vitB6_mg=0.18
| folate_ug=118
| vitA_ug=381
| betacarotene_ug=4575
| opt1n=Lutein
| opt1v=8440 µg
| vitE_mg=1.88
| vitK_ug=368
| source_usda=1
| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/170466/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]
}}
{{nutritionalvalue | name =  Turnips, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt
| kJ=92
| water=93.6 g
| protein=0.7 g
| fat=0.1 g
| carbs=5.1 g
| fiber=2.0 g
| sugars=3.0
| calcium_mg=33
| iron_mg=.18
| magnesium_mg=9
| phosphorus_mg=26
| potassium_mg=177
| sodium_mg=16
| zinc_mg=.12
| manganese_mg=.071
| vitC_mg=11.6
| thiamin_mg=.027
| riboflavin_mg=.023
| niacin_mg=.299
| pantothenic_mg=.142
| vitB6_mg=.067
| folate_ug=9
| source_usda=1
| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/170058/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]
}}
[[Boiling|Boiled]] green leaves of the turnip top ("turnip greens") provide {{convert|20|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=off}} of [[food energy]] in a reference serving of {{convert|100|g|oz|frac=2}}, and are 93% water, 4% [[carbohydrate]]s, and 1% [[protein (nutrient)|protein]], with negligible [[fat]] (table). The boiled greens are a rich source (more than 20% of the [[Daily Value]], DV) particularly of [[vitamin K]] (350% DV), with [[vitamin A]], [[vitamin C]], and [[folate]] also in significant content (30% DV or greater, table). Boiled turnip greens also contain substantial [[lutein]] (8440&nbsp;[[microgram]]s per 100&nbsp;g).

In a 100-gram reference amount, boiled turnip root supplies {{convert|22|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=on}}, with only vitamin C in a moderate amount (14% DV). Other [[micronutrient]]s in boiled turnip are in low or negligible content (table). Boiled turnip is 94% water, 5% carbohydrates, and 1% protein, with negligible fat.

== History == 
Wild forms of the turnip and its relatives, the [[mustard plant|mustards]] and [[radish]]es, are found over western Asia and Europe. Starting as early as 2000 BCE, related oilseed subspecies of ''Brassica rapa'' like ''oleifera'' may have been domesticated several times from the [[Mediterranean]] to India, though these are not the same turnips cultivated for their roots.<ref name="sanderson">{{cite book |editor1-last=Prance |editor1-first=Ghillean |editor2-last=Nesbitt |editor2-first=Mark |last1=Sanderson |first1=Helen|date=2005 |title=The Cultural History of Plants |publisher=Routledge |page=72 |isbn=0415927463}}</ref> Previous estimates of domestication dates are limited to linguistic analyses of plant names.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zohary|first1=Daniel|last2=Hopf|first2=Maria|last3=Weiss|first3=Ehud|title=Domestication of plants in the Old World : the origin and spread of domesticated plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780199549061|page=139|edition=4th}}</ref>

Edible turnips were first domesticated in [[Central Asia]] several thousand years ago, supported by genetic studies of both wild and domesticated varieties showing Central Asian varieties are the most genetically diverse crops.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=McAlvay |first1=Alex C. |last2=Ragsdale |first2=Aaron P. |last3=Mabry |first3=Makenzie E. |last4=Qi |first4=Xinshuai |last5=Bird |first5=Kevin A. |last6=Velasco |first6=Pablo |last7=An |first7=Hong |last8=Pires |first8=J. Chris |last9=Emshwiller |first9=Eve |date=30 April 2021 |title=Brassica rapa domestication: untangling wild and feral forms and convergence of crop morphotypes |url=https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/38/8/3358/6261082 |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=38 |issue=8 |pages=3358–3372 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msab108 |pmid=33930151 |pmc=8321528 |via=Oxford Academic}}</ref> Ancient literary references to turnips in Central Asia, and the existence of words for 'turnip' in ancestral languages of the region, also support the turnip as the original domesticated form of ''[[Brassica rapa]]'' subsp. ''rapa''.<ref name=":0" /> It later spread to Europe and East Asia with farmers in both areas later selecting for larger leaves; it subsequently became an important food in the [[Hellenistic]] and [[Roman Empire|Roman]] world.<ref name="sanderson"/> Among Jews in antiquity, the turnip was regarded as a food of the poor, to the extent that the [[Talmud]] declares, "Woe to the house in which the turnip passes". [[Rabbinic literature|Rabbinic sources]] further observe that turnips were consumed in various forms, "fresh, boiled, or ground," and that their flavor was enhanced when cooked with meat.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Broshi |first=Magen |title=Bread, Wine, Walls and Scrolls |date=2001 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |isbn=978-1-84127-201-6 |series=The Library of Second Temple Studies |location=London |pages=130–131}}</ref> The turnip later spread to China, and reached Japan by 700 CE.<ref name="sanderson"/>

Turnips were an important crop in the [[cuisine of Antebellum America]]. They were grown for their greens as well as the roots, and could yield edible greens within a few weeks of planting, making them a staple of new [[plantations]] still in the process of becoming productive. They could be planted as late as the fall and still provide newly arrived settlers with a source of food. The typical southern way of cooking turnip greens was to boil them with a chunk of [[salt pork]]. The [[broth]] obtained from this process was known as [[pot likker]] and was served with crumbled [[Pone (food)|corn pone]], often made from coarse meal when little else was available along the antebellum frontier.<ref>Sam Bowers Hilliard, ''Hog Meat and Hoecake: Food Supply in the Old South, 1840–1860'' (2014).</ref>

== Cultivation ==

The 1881 American ''[[Household Cyclopedia]]'' advises that turnips can be grown in fields that have been [[Harrow (tool)|harrowed]] and ploughed. It recommends planting in late May or June and weeding and thinning with a [[Hoe (tool)|hoe]] throughout the summer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/Household_Cyclopedia|title=Household Cyclopedia of 1881|year=1881|publisher=Matthew Spong}}</ref>

As a root crop, turnips grow best in cool weather; hot temperatures cause the roots to become woody and bad-tasting. They are typically planted in the spring in cold-weather climates (such as the northern US and Canada) where the growing season is only 3–4 months. In temperate climates (ones with a growing season of 5–6 months), turnips may also be planted in late summer for a second fall crop. In warm-weather climates (7 or more month growing season), they are planted in the fall. 55–60 days is the average time from planting to harvest.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}
[[File:Wright, Stephenson & Co Ltd - Turnip crop in flower (52480).jpg|thumb|Turnip crop in flower, c.1930 ]]
Turnips are a biennial plant, taking two years from germination to reproduction. The root spends the first year growing and storing nutrients, and the second year flowers, produces seeds, and dies. The flowers of the turnip are tall and yellow, with the seeds forming in pea-like pods. In areas with less than seven-month growing seasons, temperatures are too cold for the roots to survive the winter. To produce seeds,  pulling the turnips and storing them over winter is necessary, taking care not to damage the leaves. During the spring, they may be set back in the ground to complete their lifecycle.<ref>{{cite book|title=Vegetable Gardening the Colonial Williamsburg Way|first=Wesley|last=Greene|isbn=978-1609611620|year=2012|publisher=[[Rodale, Inc.|Rodale]]|chapter=Turnip|pages=95–98|quote=Turnips are biennial plants that must pass through a winter season to form flowers and seed... In colder regions, they must be dug and stored for winter and replanted in spring.}}</ref>{{rp|98}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Brosen flower nn1.jpg|Turnip flowers
File:CSA-Tokyo-Turnips.jpg|A bundle of Tokyo turnips
</gallery>

== Relevance in human use ==
In England around 1700, [[Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend#"Turnip" Townshend|Charles "Turnip" Townshend]] promoted the use of turnips in a four-year [[crop rotation|crop-rotation]] system that enabled year-round livestock feeding.<ref name="ashton">{{cite book
| last = Ashton
| first = T S
| author-link = T. S. Ashton
| title = The Industrial Revolution
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| series = A Galaxy Book
| edition = Third printing, 1965
| year = 1948
| location = New York
| page = 21
}}</ref>

In Scottish and some other English dialects, the word ''turnip'' can also refer to [[Rutabaga|rutabagas]] (North American English), also known as swedes in England, a variety of ''Brassica napus'', which is a hybrid between the turnip, ''Brassica rapa'', and the cabbage. Turnips are generally smaller with white flesh, while rutabagas are larger with yellow flesh. Scottish English sometimes distinguishes turnips as ''white turnips'', and sometimes distinguishes rutabagas as ''neeps''.

In the Austrian region of [[Wildschönau]], farmers produce a kind of [[schnaps]] called [[Krautinger]] from a variation of Brassica rapa ssp. Rapa, since they were granted permission to do so under Empress [[Maria Theresia]] in the 18th century.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://info.bml.gv.at/themen/lebensmittel/trad-lebensmittel/getraenke/krautinger.html| title=Wildschönauer Krautinger}}</ref> It is notorious for its distinct taste and smell.

== Heraldry ==
[[File:Kauvatsa.vaakuna.svg|thumb|upright=0.7|Three golden turnips in the coat of arms of [[Kauvatsa]]]]
The turnip is an old vegetable [[Charge (heraldry)|charge]] in [[heraldry]]. It was used by [[Leonhard von Keutschach]], [[prince-archbishop of Salzburg]]. The turnip is still the heart shield in the arms of [[Keutschach am See]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Schmöger |first=M. |date=2010-01-27 |title=Keutschach am See, Carinthia (Austria) |website=CRW Flags - [[Flags of the World (website)]] - [[Vexillology]]|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/at-k-keu.html|access-date=2023-08-24 |quote=Blazoning of arms ... on an inescutcheon Sable a turnip Argent with three leaves Vert. }}</ref>

The arms of the former municipality of [[Kiikala]], Finland, were ''Gules, a turnip Or''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/wiki/Kiikala |title=Kiikala |last=Hartemink |first=Ralf |work=Heraldry Wiki |access-date=2021-02-14 |quote=Official blazon (Finnish): Punaisessa kentässä kultainen nauris |archive-date=2022-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023052944/https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/wiki/Kiikala |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
{{Commons category|Brassica rapa subsp. rapa}}
{{Cookbook|Turnip}}
* [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Brassica_rapa.html#rapa Multilingual taxonomic information from the University of Melbourne]
* [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/turnip.html Alternative Field Crop Manual: Turnip]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1922680|from2=Q3916957}}
{{Brassica}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Brassica]]
[[Category:Crops]]
[[Category:Crops originating from Europe]]
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
[[Category:Root vegetables]]