Choice and storage

Turnip greens with tubers in a market.

Turnip tops are at their greatest throughout fall and spring. Contemporary greens are additionally available throughout the yr. Out there, select freshly harvested heads both alone or bearing the vegetable-tuber. Select fresh-looking, younger tender deep inexperienced leaves with a agency petiole. Typically, the highest greens are tied in bunches and offered together with their small-taproot. In that case, search for small, wholesome, agency turnip tubers.

Keep away from yellow, sunken, wilted, or over-matured leaves as they’re much less appetizing and spoil early. As with every different greens, turnip tops additionally perish rapidly and ought to be consumed as quickly as its harvest.

As soon as at house, extreme the highest greens from the basis, utilizing a knife an inch above the basis high. If left intact, the greens deprive moisture and vitamins of the tuber. Retailer them within the fridge set at excessive relative humidity of over 95% the place they keep recent for 2-3 days.

Preparation and serving strategies

Turnips tops are at their greatest throughout winter and spring lasting from November till February. Wash the greens in chilly water to rid of any floor grime. Mop them dry utilizing a paper towel. Chop carefully utilizing a paring knife for even cooking.

Turnip tops characteristic very broad leaves akin to beets or swiss chard with lengthy and generally broad, thick petiole. Trim away any powerful and woody petioles. Take away any outdated overmature, wilted, bruised leaves. Then, wash ready leaves in a colander underneath chilly faucet water to take away any floor sand and grime. Gently swish away extra water or mop dry utilizing a paper towel. Chop the leaves and petioles to the specified size utilizing a kitchen knife.

Younger tender greens might be eaten uncooked or ideally blended with different greens and greens. Nonetheless, massive mature leaves are fairly bitter in style as they compose a great deal of minerals and nutritional vitamins and are, due to this fact, most well-liked solely after cooked, sautéed, steamed, or braised.

Listed here are some serving suggestions:

• Within the Southern states of US, many Southern-style dishes ready utilizing freshly harvested turnip tops particularly blended with
  complementing greens comparable to kale, collards, mustard greens together with bacon, and salt-cured pork in mouth-watering recipes.

• In South Asia, turnip greens typically blended with milder greens like spinach within the preparation of saag recipes. The greens might be added to stuffing, casseroles, quiche, stews, stir-fry, and so on.

• Though not as standard as kale chips, greens of turnips might be employed as chips.

• Turnip greens might be juiced right into a wholesome drink. Nonetheless, uncooked greens impart a bitter style and a tinge of soreness to the oral mucosa. This may be averted by juicing gently steamed greens instead of uncooked ones.

Security profile

Oxalic acid content material within the turnip greens could be very small (0.05 g/100g) compared to different excessive oxalate content material greens and greens like
turnip-tuber (0.21g/100g), amaranth (1.09 g/100g), parsley (1.70 g/100g), and so on. This bitter precept in mature leaves is due to their excessive mineral content material. It may be minimized by boiling turnip greens in sizzling water after which discarding it earlier than including the greens in recipes. (Medical
disclaimer).

≺≺ Again to Greens from Turnip greens. Go to right here for a powerful listing of greens with full illustrations of their diet information and
well being advantages.

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Additional studying:

1. USDA Nationwide Nutrient Database.

2. College of Illinois Extension-Watch your backyard develop.

3. Oxalic acid content material of chosen vegetables-USDA.