Early-crop turnips are in season from April to July; main-crop turnips from August to March. Look for turnips with smooth, undamaged skin and without brown spots, holes or spongey patches.

Early-crop turnips are usually sold washed, in bunches. They are at their sweet, nutty best when young, and can be as tiny as golf balls.

Early-crop turnips will keep loosely wrapped in a paper bag for about two weeks in the bottom of the fridge as long as you remove their leafy tops. Main-crop turnips will keep in a cool, dark place for much longer.

To freeze early-crop turnips, trim, peel and dice them, then blanch, cool and pack into freezer bags. Cook from frozen.

For main-crop turnips, cook, drain and mash them, then freeze in rigid containers.

Early-crop turnips can be lightly cooked in butter, braised or roasted or even eaten raw in salads when very young. Main-crop turnips are larger and coarser, more similar to swedes, and as the bulbs get bigger, the flavour becomes more pronounced.

Main-crop turnips can be boiled and mashed or used in soups and stews.

More turnip recipes

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More turnip recipes

Persian-style oxtail stew

Mushroom Wellington with baby turnips and spinach

Rumbledethumps

Ribollita Tuscan soup

Pot au feu with roast lamb rump and cockles

Turnip and caper gratin with hazelnut crumb

Scotch broth

Faggots with turnips, leeks and carrots

Pot roasted guinea fowl with roasted baby turnips

Turbot with garden vegetables

Pork and kimchi stew

Pork chops with turnip and celeriac gratin

Winter vegetable soup

Turbot steaks with seaweed, turnips and potatoes

Mutton chops with potato and turnip gratin

Navarin of lamb printanièr

Spring lamb stew with ricotta dumplings

Vegetable melange with beurre blanc

Instant Punjabi-style pickle

Use-it-up vegetable stock

Curried parsnip soup

Roast duck breast with vegetables

Rack of lamb with whipped garlic mash and tapenade

Haggis, clapshot and whisky sauce

Buyer's guide

Storage

Preparation

Other root vegetable

Beetroot

Carrot

Cassava

Celeriac

Jerusalem artichoke

Parsnip

Potato

Swede

Sweet potato

Yam

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