To be good and sweet, turnips need to be young and fresh. Turnips that have sat too long on the shelf develop a bitter taste.
The other thing that the cooks on French Cuisine TV always say about turnips is that you can't just peel them lightly with a vegetable peeler (un économe). They have a thick outer layer under the thin purple and white skin that needs to be removed too. It is the bitter part.
Peel turnips so that you remove the peel an eighth or a quarter of an inch down and you see the bright white flesh. The bitter outer layer is not so white. Try that and see if it makes a difference in the taste.
Very timely; I'm just about to make soup with turnips and I will peel according to your good advice. Do you and Walt grow turnips?
ReplyDeleteLouise, our soil is too heavy -- more clay than sand -- so we haven't tried to grow root vegetables. Maybe we should try this spring.
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