Turnip Greens
Brassica rapa L.
Smaller and more tender than collards, turnip greens are pleasantly bitter. They can be eaten by themselves as a side dish, or simmered with other greens such as collards and mustard to make a delicious, traditional soul food “mess o’ greens.” (How much is a “mess”? As much as it takes to feed your family!)
A traditional preparation method in the American South is to toss greens in a large pot with some ham hocks and gently simmer for an hour until the greens are silky and meltingly tender. The nutritious, dark-green pot-likker at the bottom of the pot is then sopped up with a piece of fresh cornbread.
Cut `n Clean Greens Turnip Greens – either flat or curly – make your life easier by eliminating the drudgery of washing and cutting. With our easy bags of ready-to-use turnip greens, home cooks can focus on cooking, while saving time normally needed for prep and cleanup.
Our turnip greens are easy to cook, straight from the bag. You can toss them into a soup, wilt them in a skillet or simmer them in some boiling broth or water for a few minutes.
Disease Fighting Food
Turnip greens are such an excellent source of so many vitamins and nutrients, eating them may help prevent or heal a wide variety of health conditions or concerns:
- Lung health: You’ll breathe easier with turnip greens as part of your diet because their vitamin A content lends a hand in reducing inflammation and emphysema.
- Antioxidant protection: Turnip greens are an excellent source of notable antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene, which team up to scavenge free radicals (these cause damage to the molecules with which they interact and have been linked to a host of different diseases and health conditions). Turnip greens may benefit those with conditions ranging from colon or rectal cancers and heart disease to rheumatoid arthritis.
- Heart health: The concentrated antioxidants, vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and folic acid can help keep your heart healthy by reducing atherosclerosis and platelet clumping.
- The mind: Eating 2-3 servings of green leafy vegetables such as turnip greens has been linked with lessening of age-related cognitive decline like memory.
Cooking Tips
Most cooking greens shine with simple preparation. Here are a couple of additional tips for turnip greens:
- Turnip greens are more tender than collards or kale, so generally need less cooking to make them soft.
- Gently simmer turnip greens in a pot of boiling water, drain, and then use the greens in any casserole or even in vegetable lasagna.
- Substitute cooked turnip greens in virtually any dish you might use cooked spinach.
- Wilt turnips in a skillet with a bit of oil or broth, and then stir them into cooked rice or beans.
- Toss turnip greens into hot soup and simmer a few minutes to green it up.
- If turnip greens are too bitter for you, tame them much as you would mustard greens, by boiling in water or broth until tender, draining and then using in a stir fry or side dish.
