Turnips have become increasingly popular in recent years. After the infamous rutabaga winter in World War I, when many people in Germany had to live almost exclusively on rutabagas, this healthy and delicious winter vegetable is currently making a comeback. With only a few calories, but many healthy ingredients, the tasty turnips are extremely healthy. In addition, rutabagas, which, by the way, are also known as rutabagas, can be used to cook many varied dishes without meat – the vegetable is therefore particularly interesting for vegetarians.
What are rutabagas anyway?
Even though yellow turnips, better known as carrots, are popularly combined with rutabagas to make a mixed vegetable, these two species are not related. Turnips also have nothing in common with either parsnips or sugar beets. In fact, they are a subspecies of turnip rape – even if you can’t tell by looking at them. In fact, these turnips are almost round tubers and have a greenish, yellowish or reddish-brown color, depending on the variety – but their flesh is white or yellow. The flesh of turnips has a sweet taste that is often compared to parsnips or cabbage. Depending on the area, they are also called rutabagas, wruks, rutabagas, kohlrabi, or butterbeets. Vegetables in winter
Nutritional values of rutabaga
You can rather not eat rutabaga raw. For this reason, the following information refers to cooked rutabagas. 100 grams contain:
- 1.1 g protein
- 0.2 g fat
- 3.7 g carbohydrates
- 2.4 g dietary fiber
In addition, rutabagas with only 35 to 40 kilocalories (kcal), or 160 kilojoules are decidedly low in calories and therefore also great as a diet food for losing weight – also due to their high water content of over 90 percent. Thanks to their low carbohydrate content, they can also be used in low carb recipes.
Vitamin-rich tuber
The vitamin diversity of rutabaga is remarkable. Namely, the tubers contain:
- Beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, which is important for healthy eye, skin and hair function.
- Numerous vitamins of the B group, including: Vitamin B1 to B3, B5, B6 and folic acid.
- A large amount of vitamin C, which strengthens the defenses
- Vitamin E, which is one of the antioxidants
- Vitamin K, which is needed for blood clotting
Minerals and trace elements in rutabagas.
The content of minerals is also not to be scoffed at, as 100 grams of rutabaga contain:
- 30 mg chlorine
- 109 mg potassium
- 49 mg calcium
- 7 mg magnesium
- 5 mg sodium
- 30 mg phosphorus
- 37 mg sulfur
In addition, rutabagas contain the trace elements fluorine, iodine, zinc, copper and manganese, as well as iron, which is important for blood formation.
The health value of rutabagas
Because of the iron it contains, rutabagas are well suited for vegetarian or vegan cooking, because the iron is not bound to oxalic acid and can therefore be easily absorbed by the body. In addition, rutabagas contain vitamins C and E as well as various mustard oils. Mustard oils have an anti-inflammatory and soothing effect on the intestines, while vitamin C strengthens the immune system. The fairly high fiber content of rutabaga stimulates digestion. Those who have high cholesterol levels can enjoy rutabagas without worries, because they contain no cholesterol at all. Intolerances to rutabaga are not known.
Purchase and storage
The harvest time of rutabagas is in autumn. Then it is particularly worthwhile to buy this vegetable, because then it is offered at a decidedly low price due to the season. From September to April, rutabagas are available in the vegetable sections of most food markets or at the market. Turnips with yellow flesh are especially popular in cooking because of their more intense flavor – white-fleshed turnips are used as animal feed in this country. When buying, make sure the skin of the turnips is smooth and undamaged. Smaller tubers are considered especially tender, while large rutabagas can taste slightly woody. Turnips will only keep for a few days in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. The best place to store rutabagas is in a dark cellar. There, under good conditions, they will stay fresh for months.
Freeze rutabagas
Alternatively, rutabagas can also be frozen.To do this, you can first wash the rutabaga, peel it and cut it into small pieces. Let the rutabaga pieces cook in boiling water for about five minutes. Put the cooled cubes into freezer bags and freeze them. Frozen, the rutabagas will remain tasty for about six months.
Preparation: the rutabaga in the kitchen.
Turnips can also be eaten raw. Raw rutabagas taste good grated in a salad, for example. For most recipes, however, you have to boil or steam them. In any case, before preparation, the turnips are washed, peeled and woody parts removed. Usually, they are then cut into sticks, cubes or slices, depending on the recipe. Turnips can be prepared in many different ways. Even baby porridge is one way of preparing this versatile vegetable. Some of the most popular recipes using rutabagas include:
- Turnip vegetables
- Turnip Stew
- Turnip puree, for example, as a side dish with fish or meat.
- Turnip soup, for example with Kassler
The leftovers of a meal with turnips can also be frozen very well. Warmed up, some of these dishes often taste even better. By the way, this also applies to baby porridge prepared from them. Especially in northern Germany and Scandinavia, recipes with rutabagas never went out of fashion, even after the infamous rutabaga winter. There, rutabaga is also often referred to as rutabaga and, as a popular winter vegetable, even appears on the table in many families at Christmas as a festive meal. One popular recipe, for example, is rutabaga puree. Often, in addition to rutabagas, some carrots are also included in this puree. In this case, they do not serve as a substitute, but as a flavorful addition.
Recipe for a rutabaga soup
If you would like to prepare a rutabaga soup yourself, you will need a large rutabaga. This is peeled and then diced. Then it can be put on to boil in salted water or broth. If you like, you can also dice some carrots and add them. Then some peeled and also diced potatoes are added to the soup. Then a piece of Kassler is cut into small pieces and also added to the soup. To refine the taste, thyme is now added. Finely chopped fresh thyme is particularly tasty. Alternatively, it can also be thyme from the spice shaker. In northern Germany in particular, a few cooked sausages are added to the hot soup shortly before the end of the cooking time, taken out again before serving and offered with mustard on an extra plate with the turnip soup. 10 foods with vitamin power
