Cabbage conundrum, rutabaga riddle
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 | 02:26 PM ET
by Andree Lau, CBCnews.ca
I love trying new recipes and discovering new items in the grocery store. Top of my list the other week was savoy cabbage — yet I came home with a rutabaga.
You see, I know all about “exotic” produce: durian, lychee, bitter melon, jicama. But it’s the common stuff that most people in North America recognize that stumps me.
A rutabaga — which is not a savoy cabbage. (Andree Lau/CBC)
A savoy cabbage — which is not a rutabaga. (Chris Beckett)
I didn’t grow up with turnips or brussels sprouts, so when British chef Jamie Oliver showed up on my TV cooking something called Bubble and Squeak, I thought it would be fun to try.
Off I went to the grocery store, list in hand.
I walked to the cabbage section, saw a sign for “savoy cabbage,” picked up an unfamiliar brown lump from the corresponding section and put it in my cart. The fact it had no leaves should've been a clue.
As we were checking out, my fiancé said: “What is that?”
"A savoy cabbage!” I proclaimed proudly.
“Um, I don’t think so,” he said.
“But it was under the sign that said savoy cabbage,” I protested.
The grocery receipt and Google soon proved that I just bought a rutabaga.
And to make matters worse, my copy editor just informed me that a rutabaga IS a turnip. I’m so confused.
What do I do with a rutabaga? What kind of produce misidentifications have you run into?
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From trends and culture to politics and nutrition, Food Bytes serves up tasty tidbits about food and the issues surrounding it that flavour our everyday lives.
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Amber Hildebrandt writes for CBCNews.ca in Toronto. Growing up on a farm in Manitoba, she acquired an insatiable appetite, but it was during a stint in Japan that she developed her discerning tastebuds and "foodie" ways.
Andrea Chiu is an associate producer at CBC Radio Digital. Though she loves to eat, cook and discuss food,
don't ask her to bake. It never turns out well. She tweets as @TOfoodie on Twitter and organizes food and wine events in Toronto called FoodieMeet.
Tara Kimura is the consumer life reporter for CBCNews.ca, covering a wide range of issues that range from rising food costs and the growing organic movement, to new trends in the marketplace.
Andree Lau is a CBC web reporter in Calgary. Her journalism career includes seven years as a CBC-TV reporter. Her own blog called "are you gonna eat that?" chronicles her eating adventures (including sampling snake and camel hoof tendon).
Jessica Wong is a CBCNews.ca writer who loves to eat and cook, as well as discuss, read and watch programming about food, sometimes all at once.
Kevin Yarr, CBCNews.ca's writer in Prince Edward Island, wrote about food and beer for national and regional magazines before joining the CBC. He acquired a desire for new tastes on his first trip to Europe, and an appreciation of eating locally and in season when he finally settled down on P.E.I.
Elizabeth Bridge is a writer with the CBC Digital Archives in Toronto. She first ventured into the kitchen as a child to indulge a sweet tooth by baking cookies and making fudge. A student budget compelled her to be a vegetarian (for a while) and instilled in her an ongoing curiosity about food and cooking.
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Comments
jodie
toronto
hahaha. it's a giant turnip.
you can cut (some of) it up and cook it with some apples to go with pork chops. i think it can also make a nice veg puree.
try those brussels sprouts next time. they are great with bacon or butter and white wine.
Posted November 12, 2008 04:31 PM
Ginny
Would also be a great addition to a roasted winter vegetable combination.
Posted November 13, 2008 06:51 AM
Caitlin
Winnipeg
You have just stumbled on a favourite vegetable of mine. What I really like is peeled rutabaga, boil till easy to mash, then mash it with butter, salt & pepper, and taste it. If it's a bit bitter for you, add some brown sugar and mash it again! It goes great with a fowl supper, I love to have a chicken or turkey and have a real medley of winter veggies, including the mashed rutabaga, brussles sprouts, parsnips (cut into disks and boiled, served with butter), boiled or steamed baby carrots, yam (cut into large chunks and boiled or roasted with small onions)-- OH! the possibilities are endless!
It was always part of the fall church suppers when I was a kid, and it's cheaper than its small, pale cousin, the white turnip.
Also good (a cup, diced) in a stew.
Man, I can't stop thinking of more yummy ways to eat this veg! You can mash it together with sweet potato, and then you are taking down the bitterness naturally, and nutritiously.
Posted November 13, 2008 10:26 AM
chris
Turnips are great!.....I was introduced to them as a young child since my father was a great believer in having vegetables available to snack on instead of cookies or chips. We had a large tub in the fridge with carrot sticks, radishes, and turnip sticks. They are crunchy and quite peppery in taste....a great snack.
Posted November 13, 2008 10:47 AM
Max
Calgary
It is a staple vegetable in Newfoundland. It is peeled and sliced into small chunks or rectangles and boiled with peeled potatoes, carrots and cabbage for a side dish with meat such as salted beef (Jigg's dinner)
Posted November 13, 2008 02:01 PM
Laura
Calgary
Hi Andree,
My story is kind of the opposite of yours -- a few years ago a friend of mine foolishly let her husband help with Thanksgiving dinner. She asked him to make mashed "winter turnips" (i.e. rutabagas) with the turkey. But her husband, who was raised in Canada and should have known better, went to the market and brought home a bag of jicamas, because that's what was under the sign that said "rutabagas". He boiled them until soft and mashed them with salt, pepper, and butter. DO NOT DO THIS. I think warm spackle seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter would have tasted better!
I think the recipe ideas posted so far are great, but I want to add a seasoning suggestion; use a little freshly-grated nutmeg instead of black pepper! Its aromatic sweetness rounds out and balances the rutabagas' pungent natural spiciness.
Posted November 13, 2008 02:17 PM
ernie
Monkton
I have interesting memories of rutabagas, since my first job after college was in a rutabaga processing plant.At that time Canada had a marketing order with the United States that required all rutabagas that were exported to the US to be inspected by Agriculture Canada.It was an eye opener to see the volume of rutabagas that were exported to the US. I was told a lot went to Florida to be cut into swizzle sticks for drinks. The south western Ontario region produced the vast majority of the rutabagas for north america.
It was made very clear that a rutabaga and a turnip are not the same. A turnip is smaller, a diffent colour and doesn't store as well as a rutabaga.
There is your rutabaga 101 info for the day.
Posted November 14, 2008 05:51 AM
Andree
Calgary
Thanks for all the tips and stories! I'm definitely rutabaga-smarter now.
Posted November 23, 2008 04:25 PM
Anonymous
Hello and welcome to the world of the root vegetable. Here's how I cook turnips: Peel and cut into pieces (by the way, I love them raw and so does my dog) and place them in water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer until tender. Drain, mash with freshly grated nutmeg, a little sugar and a bit of butter. Add salt and pepper. (As a variation, add peeled, sliced apples before mashing and a bit of cinnamon and sugar after.) Hope you enjoy.
Posted November 24, 2008 02:57 PM
Jan
My favorite vegetable ever! Cut in cubes and pressure cook for 3 minutes for optimum flavor. Mash with butter and salt and pepper. Great in soups and stews. Best served with turkey, placed right beside your stuffing on the plate and covered with gravy! Yum! I am in the middle of cutting up about 12 rutabagas to cook tomorrow - didn't know whether to keep in water or just in zip lock bags until I cook them. By the way, you need a really sharp knife and lots of muscle to slice and dice the 'buggers' - unless you cheat and soften them in the microwave first. Happy Thanksgiving and remember, rutabagas aren't just for the holidays.
Posted November 25, 2008 11:09 PM