Roasted Turnips (Air Fryer or Oven Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to peel turnips before you roast them? ›

It's not essential to peel turnips before cooking. If this skin appears to be thin enough you can leave it on and cook as is. However if the skin feels thick and leathery, you can peel it off with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Both the roots and leaves, also known as turnip greens, are safe to eat.

How do you get the bitterness out of turnips? Smaller turnips tend to be sweeter and less bitter, so start by selecting fresh, small, tender turnips and peeling them. Adding a little sugar to your turnips after cooking can also help to counteract any bitterness.

Bring to a boil, adjust the heat and simmer until the turnips are tender when pierced with a toothpick or the tip of a paring knife, 20 to 30 minutes. Step three: Season and serve. Drain the turnips and season with salt and pepper.

You can't make turnips taste better because they are the best tasting food there ever could be. Roast them instead of boiling them. Serve with salt, pepper, and butter. You can use other spices or things like vinegar too if you like.

Milk, salt and pepper go in as the drained vegetables are mashed. A small amount of sugar is often added to help smooth out any rough flavour edges, but when working with garden-grown turnips that mature in cool soil, taste before adding sugar.

And if their reputation for bitterness scares you or your kids, fear not. Roasting brings out their natural sweetness. Another secret is how you peel them. Bitter notes lie just under the surface of the skin, but you can eliminate this if you go a little deeper when peeling them.

How do you get the bitterness out of turnips? Peel the turnip about ¼" down, below the yellow bitterness line you can see when you cut the turnip in half. Boil the turnips in salt water. Add a few potatoes to the boiling water.

In the hands of an able cook, a well-cooked turnip tastes heavenly. When roasted, the natural sugars are allowed to caramelize, resulting in a crispy-tender side dish that tastes like a cross between a potato and a carrot.

One turnip website from the United Kingdom notes that if you boil them, add a little sugar to tame the scent and add baking soda to reduce bitterness.

Older, big turnips won't have as mild a flavour so you won't want to use them raw. But overcooking any turnip, whether young or old, makes them taste “turnipy” — as in the overboiled turnip taste so many people grew to hate.

Why are my turnips tough? ›

Any root crop (potatoes, carrots, radishes, parsnips, turnips) needs a fine- textured, well-drained soil to grow properly. If the soil is too heavy, the crop will rot. If the soil is too lumpy or rocky, the roots will be tough, fibrous and misshapen.

Roasting mellows the flavor of turnips and concentrates their texture into a tender, melting vegetable. Serve these easy roasted turnips with other roasted vegetables (the sweetness of carrots is a good complement) alongside roasted meats or with a simple roasted chicken.

Rutabagas are also generally much larger than turnips. So for a quick rule of thumb, the brownish-yellowish ones are rutabagas, and the smaller white and purple ones are turnips. In terms of their flavor, rutabagas are slightly sweeter-tasting than turnips whereas turnips have a slightly more radishy flavor.

Use turnips any way you would use a potato, and then some. Try them baked or boiled in stews, soups and stir-fries, or lightly steamed with some butter, salt or lemon juice for flavor. homemade coleslaw.

Turnips are a healthy alternative to potatoes; they're lower in calories and have fewer carbs. Smaller, sweeter turnips can be sliced into wedges and eaten raw like an apple. Raw baby turnips can be sliced or diced and used in salads. Raw turnips can also be grated and used as a garnish.

Turnips have a crisp, white inner flesh and a zesty, peppery flavor. People can eat them raw or cooked. However, roasting turnips tends to bring out their best flavors and qualities.