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Cooking With Turnips- Candied Turnips

First I want to talk about turnips and the many ways to cook them, although I did make candied turnips today, that`s the reason for this article.

Most people who grow turnip greens do not even eat the turnips. One reason why is that raw they have a peppery bite to them with a slight bitterness, some can be down right hot. When cooked they become bitter and most people add some type of sweetness, I know I do!

Growing up I always chopped up raw turnips and mixed them with the green tops, adding salt, sugar and some type of pork  [ bacon or ham or a pork chop, sometimes just fat back] when cooking it all together for a couple of hours.

Or I will cook them in butter with pork and sugar.

As I grow older I do not care for Pork much anymore so  today I made candied turnips. I sliced the turnips super thin and added them to a hot skillet bubbling with butter and cooked them for a few minutes then I added salt,  black pepper and sugar. Enough sugar to make them taste like candy.

On other days when I am in a salad mood I will pick a few turnips with nice bright green tops and clean both the roots and the green. I chop the greens and slice the turnips thin and mix in whatever I want on this salad, as a dressing I mix lime juice, olive oil and agave nectar, salt. Now! I have a fresh from the garden salad with minimal calories.

And know that turnips are packed with vitamins , vitamin C and B-6, A good source of potassium, manganese and calcium, packed with fiber.

Turnips keep well in the freezer, just blanch them for five minutes, cool and freeze for up to six months.

Canning is also a way to keep turnips for year round eating, just follow the proper canning methods and use a pressure canner.

By Andria Perry

Photo By Andria Perry

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Written by Andria Perry

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