The rutabaga is the size of a tennis ball and looks like a turnip. For twenty years, this root vegetable, introduced two centuries ago on the tables of Northern Europe, has been gradually brought up to date. It is therefore worth taking stock of the health benefits of rutabaga.
IDENTITY RECORD
Last name : Rutabagaturnip
Scientific name : Brassica napobrassica
Botanical family: Brassicaceae
Varieties: Yellow Collar, Green Collar, Saint-Marc Yellow, Aubigny White, Pontivy
Caloric value: 38 kcal / 100 g
High season: October–April (calendar)
Producers: Netherlands, Germany, China, France
France: Brittany, Picardy
Storage: 10 days in the refrigerator
Like the Jerusalem artichoke, the rutabaga has long evoked the era of the Occupation. During this period, potatoes were requisitioned by the occupier and these two forgotten vegetablesoriginally reserved for animals, was consumed by men.
A true winter vegetable, the rutabaga is now found on the tables of the great chefs who cook it in vinaigrette, potato gratin (Alain Passard) or as a soft dessert (Thierry Schwartz).
Even if it is still relatively little consumed today, rutabaga is eaten raw or cooked, and it is often prepared mashed or in soup. Only the roots are eaten, not the leaves. Depending on the varieties and the cooking methods, its taste can be reminiscent sometimes of turnip and cabbage, sometimes of celeriac and potato.
The benefits of rutabaga
Also called turnip cabbage, rutabaga belongs to the brassica (or cruciferous) family like all varieties of cabbage, turnip and watercress. He is from Eastern Europe. It was introduced about 200 years ago in Sweden, then in the rest of Northern Europe, especially in Great Britain.
Its name comes from a Swedish dialect: rot bagga which would mean ” ram root “. An appellation which recalls that this fodder plant was, at the beginning, mainly intended for livestock, sheep in particular.
It was Scotland that popularized its use in human nutrition. Rutabaga is one of the star ingredients of Scotland’s national dish, famous haggis (Haggis).
Rutabaga is a very popular root vegetable rich in vitamin C like the majority of crucifers, which makes it a food of choice for boost the immune system especially in winter. This is definitely one of the benefits of rutabaga.
Due to its high fiber content, rutabaga is also involved in the regulation of intestinal transit. Thanks to its antioxidant properties, it helps prevent certain cancers such as lung, digestive system and ovarian cancers.
Among the other benefits of rutabaga, it is a good source of potassiuma mineral that plays an important role in the proper functioning of muscles including the heart.
Varieties to know
There are several varieties of rutabaga, but the one with orange-yellow flesh remains the finest and the most pleasant from a taste point of view. We consume it usually in soupmixed with other vegetables, but it also goes very well with meat.
Among the varieties available on our stalls, we mainly find the yellow-necked rutabaga, whose root is round; the green-collared rutabaga, also with a round root; the yellow of Saint-Marc or the Blanc d’Aubigny with red collar, a long root with white flesh. Without forgetting the oval rutabaga, the flat yellow rutabaga, the Pontivy rutabaga, etc.
The rutabaga is the size of a tennis ball and looks like a turnip, sometimes with a slightly more elongated shape depending on the variety. Its upper part is a little swollen.
Like the turnip, the rutabaga must be very heavy in hand (which reveals the density of the flesh). Otherwise, it may be hollow and stringy. The skin of the rutabaga should be free of spots and bruises.
Choose smaller specimens. Their flesh is tender and their taste subtle. They will develop less bitterness when cooked.
Back home, the rutabaga is best preserved in a cool, dry placeprotected from light (remember that it is a root vegetable, not used to daylight).
The ideal: the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, where it can stay up to ten days.
Recipe: Root Vegetable Casserole
Ingredients (1 person)
- 100 g of parsnips
- 100g carrots
- 100 g of rutabagas
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/2 chicken stock cube
- 1 pinch of cumin
- 1 C. at s. fresh cream 15% fat
- Salt and pepper
Preperation
- Peel and wash the vegetables. Cut the carrots and parsnips into rounds and the rutabagas into quarters. Chop the garlic.
- In a nonstick casserole dish, brown the vegetables, then add the garlic.
- Pour in 1 glass of water, then crumble the stock cube and continue cooking for 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with cumin, salt and pepper.
- Add the cream and serve hot.
