To prolong the shelf life, separate the greens from the roots with a knife and store separately in plastic bags in your refrigerator.
Baby white turnips are a classy little vegetable we often describe as being “pristine.” They are classified as a salad turnip and are tender with a sweet, mild flavor. Both the roots and the green tops are edible and may be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Compared to the common purple top turnip or other storage turnips we grow in the fall, salad turnips are much more mild and subtle in both flavor and texture. So if you think you don’t like turnips, at least give these a try!
To prepare baby white turnips for use, separate the roots from the greens and wash both well to remove any dirt. Salad turnips have such a thin exterior layer, they do not need to be peeled. They are delicious eaten raw in a salad, or just munch on them with dip or hummus. You can also cook these turnips, but remember to keep the cooking time short as it doesn’t take much to cook them to fork tender. You can simply sauté them in butter, stir-fry or roast them. The greens may be added to raw salads, or lightly sauté or wilt them in a little butter.
Growing Information: We plant baby white turnips for harvest early in the spring and again in the fall when the growing conditions are cooler. We harvest them while they are still small and tender, when the sweet flavor matches their delicate appearance. The other turnips we grow in the fall are meant for storage purposes and have a thicker skin compared to the thin skin of a salad turnip. Baby white turnips also mature much faster than beets, carrots and fennel, etc so they are a very important part of our spring menus until the other root vegetables are ready for harvest.
