Accent
In season . . . rutabagas
By Donna Pierce
Chicago Tribune
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.18.2006 advertisementWhen shoppers in Great Britain look for "Swedes" among supermarket produce, what they're searching for is the hearty vegetable with pale yellow flesh that Americans call the rutabaga. It's translated from the Swedish "rotabagge," which means "round root," writes Dianne Onstad in "The Whole Food Companion." Onstad describes the vegetable as a turnip and cabbage cross-developed by a Swiss botanist.
Although frugal shoppers prize the economical rutabaga for its rich, velvety flavor, this humble root vegetable also offers significant nutritional benefits. Like other Brassica genus vegetables, the rutabaga contains dithiolthiones, "a group of compounds that have anti-cancer, antioxidant properties"; and indoles, "substances that protect against breast and colon cancer," Onstad writes.
Towns in Wisconsin and Oregon compete for claims as Rutabaga Capital of the World. A four-day fest held each August in Cumberland, Wis., includes a "Rutabaga Run/Walk."
What to look for: Rutabagas can weigh as much as 2 pounds, but avoid those that are too large. Select heavy vegetables the size of a softball. At home: Rutabagas can be refrigerated in plastic bags for several weeks. Rutabagas can be baked and roasted unpeeled. Peel the vegetable's thick skin and cut into cubes to serve boiled, mashed and added to stews. Rutabagas are particularly delicious mashed with potatoes.
"Rutabaga is also delicious grated raw and seasoned with a simple vinaigrette. Even the green of the young plant can be eaten, much like the turnip, collard and mustard greens of the same family," Darra Goldstein writes in "The Winter Vegetarian."
Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star
Getting to the roots of rutabagas
Rutabagas are a cross between turnips, cabbage Jan 11, 2006
January 11, 2006
Did you know? When shoppers in Great Britain look for "Swedes" among supermarket produce, what they're searching for are the hearty vegetables with pale yellow flesh that Americans call rutabagas. It's translated from the Swedish rotabagge, which means "round root," writes Dianne Onstad in "Whole Foods Companion." Onstad describes the vegetable as a turnip and cabbage cross developed by a Swiss botanist.
Although frugal shoppers prize the economical rutabaga for its rich, velvety flavor, this humble root vegetable also offers significant nutritional benefits. Like other Brassica genus vegetables, rutabagas contain dithiolthiones, "a group of compounds that have anti-cancer, antioxidant properties"; and indoles, "substances that protect against breast and colon cancer," Onstad writes.
Buying tips: Rutabagas can weigh as much as 2 pounds but avoid those that are too large. Select heavy vegetables the size of a softball.
Storage tips: Rutabagas can be refrigerated in a plastic bag for several weeks.
Cooking tips: Rutabagas can be baked and roasted unpeeled. Peel the vegetable's thick skin and cut into cubes to serve boiled, mashed and added to stews. Rutabagas are particularly delicious mashed with potatoes. Rutabaga is also delicious grated raw and seasoned with a simple vinaigrette.