How To Select, Store And Cook Rutabaga

Have you tried rutabaga? Not sure what it is or how to use it? Rutabaga, also known as swede or yellow turnip, is a wonderfully versatile root vegetable that often gets overlooked in favour of more popular crops like carrots or potatoes. If you’ve seen it in the produce aisle and wondered what exactly it is this post is for you!

Also Read: Easy Roasted Root Vegetables, Roasted Root Vegetable & Halloumi Sheet Pan, Hamburger Soup

What is Rutabaga?

Rutabaga is a hardy, cool-season root vegetable that belongs to the Brassica family, which also includes cabbage, kale, and turnips. It is a cross between a turnip and a cabbage and has a round, bulbous shape with a yellow or purple skin and bright yellow flesh. Rutabagas grow are often harvested in late fall or early winter and store well, making them a perfect choice for comforting soups, stews and other cold weather favourites.

Rutabagas are a nutritional powerhouse! They are low in calories and high in fibre, making them great for digestion. They’re also packed with vitamin C, which helps support your immune system, and contain antioxidants that can help protect against oxidative stress. Rutabagas are a good source of potassium and magnesium, important minerals for heart and muscle health.

What Does Rutabaga Taste Like?

Rutabaga has a mild, earthy flavour with a subtle sweetness. It’s often described as a combination of turnip and cabbage. When cooked, it becomes tender and slightly creamy, making it a great addition to mashed vegetable mixes or soups. The sweetness intensifies when roasted or caramelized.

What’s the Difference Between Rutabaga and Turnip?

Rutabagas and turnips are both root vegetables, but they differ in size, flavour, and texture:

• Size & Shape: Rutabagas are larger, more round shaped and rougher, while turnips are smaller, smoother and about the size of a tennis ball.
• Appearance: Rutabagas have purple or reddish skin with yellow flesh, while turnips are white with a purple top and white flesh. Turnips are often harvested while young and tender when they tend to look more like a radish while rutabagas are grown longer and have a rougher outside appearance.
• Flavor: Rutabagas are sweeter and milder, while turnips have a sharper, more peppery or bitter taste.
• Texture: Rutabagas are denser and starchier, becoming creamy when cooked, while turnips are crisper and softer.
• Uses: Rutabagas are great for mashing, roasting, or soups; turnips are better raw in salads, slaws, or roasted.

Which tastes better? Rutabagas are sweeter and starchier, while turnips are lighter and more bitter. Generally speaking more people prefer the less bitter flavour of rutabaga to turnip. But there are some die hard turnip fans out there!