Bitter Baby Turnips

[Helgalush]

I had some homegrown baby turnips last night - lovely they were. I pulled the whole lot up because they were so tightly packed together it was pretty hard not to.

When we ate them we found that the really small ones werent very tender and were more bitter than the ones that had grown to full size. We'd also had a large turnip in our veg box and you could tell the pieces that were from that as they were lovely and tender with a better flavour.

Do you think I pulled the small ones up too soon, or is it a variety thing maybe? The variety is Atlantic.

As an aside, has anyone used turnip leaves for eating as well?

[roitelet]

They have possibly grown too slowly due to the drought. Try caramelising them.

Cook them until nearly done, drain them and put them back in the pan with a little insalted butter and some caster sugar and brown them. It won't improve the texture but will improve the flavor.

[TallGirl]

Might be variety? My Atlantic Purple Top were a bit bitter, but perfectly edible - mostly about the size of a large golf ball. Then again DH did stew them in something flavoursome for about 3/4 hour.

I'd have loved to eat the tops cos they smelt wonderful, but the flea beetles obviously thought the same and they were utterly ravaged.

[arpoet]

Mine are a couple of weeks from being of an eating size. I aim for somewhere between golfball and tennis ball size. The tend to grow uneven so i pick em out.
Roger