Rudabaga, really just a food of last resort?

[HighDesertHippie]

I was recently placing the last of my 2020 seed and start orders over at territorial when an often ignored root from the brassica family caught my eye again.

To be fair I had been idly flipping through the pages of a booklet they had given me while I did some research into the history of the carrot, dating back to the times of the silk road and were even named by the proto-indo European tribes and cultivated later in Greece... I thought to myself upon taking notice of the rutabaga, for the first time in my life oddly enough, and shifted my focus toward reading into the history of this fascinating hybrid root.

It seems a lot of our European ancestors subsisted off this plant for most of their diet and they brought the plant with them to the Americas where it was slowly replaced by more beloved tubers like the potato, but this still surprises me.

It seems like this plant got a bad reputation for all the wrong reasons, It was fed to prisoners of war and slaves by diabolical peoples who meant harm, and perhaps people were forced to eat this plant in awful situations and this gave it a reputation as a food of hard times, but that's only because it was the only plant that was there for us during those hard times

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I liked it raw when I was 4, (the age of maximum pickiness), so i don't think it's that bad. It's g.d disgusting cooked.

If I had to do something with it, i would ferment it into kimchi. This is honestly the best possible thing you could do with it. Not even my opinion. It's a fact. I've never made rutabaga kimchi, but I've never felt so strongly about anything in my life. This is a match made in heaven. Fermented rutabaga kimchi.

 

[HighDesertHippie]

I'm not sure how comfortable with the entire process of fermentation yet. I want to try some fridge pickles and maybe even tomato brandy this year but I know this process can kill you if not done right. I have read a bunch of articles lately about the actual benefits of eating foods like kimchi and fermented garlic, and it's not that I don't trust myself to do it clean but when I worked in the cannery my main job was to prevent our products from killing people. I was told a bad green bean in 1000 is more likely to do this than pork or chicken ever was.

I have also heard of using fermentation to fix and increase the flavor of chili sauces, which I plan on making a number of if I can get the process down clean and proper

 

[FmGrowit]

It a Thanksgiving staple for me. Unfortunately, that just about the only time of year that I can find it. Like Brussels Sprout and turnips (both of which I also love), they need a few hard frosts to sweeten up. Peel, cut into cubes, boil until tender, butter, salt and pepper...yum.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Your fear is unfounded. I'm half Ukrainian, so maybe I am either immunocologically superior, or low in IQ, but fermenting vegetables is so easy with a few simple consistent steps.

1. Use an air lock, comme ça:



2. Keep everything submerged.

3. No vinegar.

4. Room temperature.

5. A touch less than a tbsp of salt per quart.

 

[deluxestogie]

I pickled my green tomatoes (cut up) at room temperature with no vinegar, but with 1/4 cup of salt per quart of water (old recipe from Rhodes, Greece), and a whole head of separated garlic cloves (in a pint!). No air-lock. Once done, the pickled green tomatoes do not taste over salted.

Bob

 

[CobGuy]

Boiled & Mashed Rutabaga with butter, salt & pepper (maybe a little bacon fat) is fantastic as a side for Pork Chops.
You can mash in a couple of boiled potatoes if it's too strong for your tastes.

~Darin

 

[GreenDragon]

I prefer them roasted. Cut into 3\4 cubes, place in bowl. Toss with oil, S&P, garlic powder, thyme, touch of cayenne. If you're having company add some cubed potatoes, carrots, chopped onion, whole garlic cloves, and Brussels sprouts. Spread on baking sheet lined with non-stick foil and roast at 375. If there happens to be a turkey or other beast roasting at the same time steal some drippings and add to the party.

 

[deluxestogie]

The root of cabbage (the part we ignore) can also be cooked and eaten--at least according to General Marbot's account of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

If you're having company add some cubed potatoes, carrots, chopped onion, whole garlic cloves, and Brussels sprouts.

In other words, (is this what you mean?) if you're having company, mix in some other stuff so your guests can pick through and discretely avoid the rutabaga.

 

[fimbrew]

Fermenting is intentional spoiling. What could go wrong? Well actually not much. That is why it's been used for millennia to preserve food. Fermenting food is easy. I don' even use an airlock ( although I have lots for brewing). If you want to be more careful you can use your own starter culture but they aren't necessary.

 

[HighDesertHippie]

The root of cabbage (the part we ignore) can also be cooked and eaten--at least according to General Marbot's account of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.

Bob

Is rutabaga not the root of a specially bred version of cabbage?

I know they were grown along side one another in many of the early new England farms, so do they not cross with one another anymore?

White turnip crossed with cabbage was my impression

 

[deluxestogie]

Phylogenetic tree of Brassica

Cabbage is B. oleracea, while rutabaga is a different species, B. napus.

Bob