Tasty swede?

[ChingfordHarry]

Readers of my posts might remember that last year I was after a variety of Brussels sprouts that was not in any way "child friendly" - I wanted something with plenty of taste.

this year I have been disappointed by the swede I bought for my haggis, neeps and tatties - while wonderfully sweet (and crunchy when raw - it would have made a good if not very tasty cole slaw), the swedy edge that I look for in my mashed neeps was missing.

I remember Bob Flowerdew once saying that swede is really an agricultural crop, not a horticultural one, and therefore not worth growing at home, but I'm willing to give them a bit of space if I could guarantee a nice strong brassica flavour next Hogmanay.

any suggestions? Basically, anything that an under-40 would eat without blenching will probably not be suitable (without wishing to be ageist).

[history gardening]

i am confused about what want from you post.
taste, Swede variety, cooking, prep method,
growing methods and grow advice. you post is all over the place.

could clarify your post in clear bullets point?

[Nicos]

I’m guessing he wants a good all rounder? We can all ruin with our ‘cooking inabilities’ anything which should be delish

Any suggestions are always welcome…be it recipes etc etc

When it comes to small turnips they are delish cooked slowly in butter…maybe a similar method might work for stronger flavoured swede?

[Snoop Puss]

Doesn't look easy to find a particular variety that might suit your needs, except in huge volumes for growing as animal fodder, as the swedy flavour you refer to looks to be being bred out. I wonder if just growing your swedes bigger might help.

[Snoop Puss]

you post is all over the place.

Please remember this point in the terms and conditions for use of the forum, history gardening: "contributions must be constructive and polite".

[ChingfordHarry]

Sorry this was confusing. I'm after swede varieties with plenty of flavour.

TBH, the only recipe I'm interested in is mashed (or bashed) neeps, which are almost invariably boiled (or pressure-cooked, which keeps more flavour in the vegetable), then mashed with a knob of butter and often a dash of nutmeg (no need to add salt because haggis has plenty). Anything else would be gilding the lily...

[ChingfordHarry]

Thanks for the link, Snoop.

It seems from reading the various descriptions there that I might be out of luck - swimming against the stream... I'll pick something "old-fashioned" and see how happy I am this coming 31st December (too late to get one grown by Burns' Night this year!)

[burnie]

I was told years ago that Swedes can only be grown in a field, now how does a plant know which side of the hedge was garden and which was field. I grew very nice Swedes, but they did need to be on heavy-ish soil, mine in the Midlands had a fair bit of clay. Where I am now is coastal with light sandy soil and the Swedes are rubbish and the farmers don't grow them either in our local area.
It was also said they needed a frost(same with Sprouts, but again it was a myth, we had Swede and Brussels young in the late summer well before a frost(my wife is on methotrexate for arthritis and it has killed her taste buds, she needs a strong flavour to taste anything), she tasted those grown on heavy soil just fine. I though it was down to lack of water and tried watering quite heavily, but the Swedes were still tiny and poor flavour, maybe there's something in heavier soil that is missing in mine, minerals maybe?

[ChingfordHarry]

Heavy soil is what I've got - dig down more than ~25cm and I hit yellow London clay, and could feasibly make bricks with the top 25cm too! This is very encouraging. Many thanks.

[Penellype]

That could explain why when I have tried to grow swedes at the allotment (which is definitely not clay) the results have been dreadful. I think in 3 years trying I got one edible swede about half the size of a tennis ball. I've given up completely.