| Year of the Rutabaga | |
by Judy Sobeloff, from the January 2006 newsletter
A whole new year stretches ahead, if not a blank slate then perhaps an untrammeled field of snow. What imprint do you want to leave on it, and what imprint do you want it to leave on you? Sitting on the kitchen floor peeling rutabagas while my children argued over who got to hold which rutabaga, I took a moment to ponder these questions and more. When life gives you lemons, as the saying goes, make lemonade. When life gives you rutabagas, what then?
While there are those among us who may confuse rutabagas with turnips, note these distinctions: larger and coarser, rutabagas are the result of a chance hybridization between turnips and cabbages, first appearing in Eastern Europe in the 17th century. Rutabagas, then, are a member of the cabbage family, while turnips belong to the mustard family. One of the few vegetables to last through long cold Scandinavian winters, the rutabaga was “long the food of the poor, cherished as an important source of vitamins more than for its taste” (www.recipe.zaar.com). Also known as “swedes,” the word rutabaga comes from the Swedish word “rotbagge,” meaning round or baggy root (www.produceoasis.com).
While a round, baggy, hairy, bumpy root may not be what you thought you were looking for to start off your new year, once its exterior is stripped away, it may reveal charms hitherto unanticipated. Then again, it may not. Sitting on the floor with my children, who had moved on to arguing over who got to hold which pieces of the purple peel, we marveled at the rutabagas’ inner beauty: the flesh beneath the purple peel at the rounded base is honeydew-green, while the flesh beneath the yellow peel at the rutabaga’s tip is a stunning cantaloupe-peach. When boiled it all turns a cheesy yellow, prompting my 22-month-old to squeal, “Mango, mango!”
For those who would like to own a rutabaga without eating one, the Advanced Rutabaga Studies Institute (ARSI), reports that rutabagas have masonry applications when mashed and mixed with gray food coloring, and “are often used to hammer out dents, as they do not become brittle even after years of service.” As they lend “a certain resonance to the process you just cannot get with steel or rubber,” the aesthetic appeal may even outweigh the utilitarian.
All I can say is, there’s music in the rutabaga. According to the Celtic music group Craicmore, the best way to distinguish a jig from a reel is this: if you can keep time reciting “Humpty Dumpty,” it’s a jig; if you can keep time repeating “rutabaga,” it’s a reel. If that doesn’t tempt you to make a rutabaga part of your new year, I don’t know what will.
In contrast to those who would make light of the rutabaga, an article on vegparadise.com praises the rutabaga’s “delicate sweetness,” promising that “with its easy preparation and versatility, great nutrition, and excellent flavor, the rutabaga can easily become an endearing family favorite…. There are at least 100 ways to enjoy rutabagas,” including raw (sliced as a snack or grated into salads) as well as “roasted, boiled, steamed, stir-fried, mashed, or stewed.”
The “humble” rutabaga is apparently a key player in evolutionary theory as well. Darwin mentions the distinction between rutabagas and turnips in Origin of the Species, and the journal Science (vol. 283) reports the theory of a Harvard anthropologist that tubers (including our rutabaga) “and the ability to cook them, prompted the evolution of large brains, smaller teeth, modern limb proportions, and even male-female bonding” (cogweb.ucla.edu).
To test these notions, we used peeled, cubed, boiled rutabagas in Maple Rutabaga with Cranberries and Rutabaga Apple Casserole. While I’d selected the maple dish hoping for more excitement than I found, general consensus was that these dishes were tasty enough, with our 22-month-old enjoying plain boiled rutabaga as well as the more extensive presentations. Rutabaga Apple Casserole appealed in a buttery/brown-sugary well-intentioned sort of way, though my four-year-old was unimpressed with it as apple pie.
So, to those of you wondering whether to reach for a rutabaga, I offer the following from ARSI as a New Year’s toast: “Remember that hundreds of people, worldwide, eat rutabagas every year.”
Maple Rutabaga with Cranberries (adapted from Canadian Living magazine)
4 pounds rutabagas
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper
1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely choppedOptional Toppings:
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Peel rutabagas and cut into cubes. In large saucepan of boiling salted water, cover and cook rutabagas for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender.
Drain and return to pot. With potato masher, mash with maple syrup, butter, salt and pepper. Stir in cranberries. Spread in an 11” x 7” baking dish. Bake covered in 400 F oven for 30 minutes or until hot.
Optional Topping: Combine breadcrumbs, butter, and parsley; sprinkle over top. Broil for about 2 minutes or until golden.
Rutabaga Apple Casserole (from southernfood.about.com)
3 cups peeled sliced rutabaga
2 medium apples, sliced
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3 Tbsp. butter
Salt
Cook rutabaga slices in boiling salted water until just tender; drain.
Place half of rutabaga slices and half of apple slices in greased 1-quart casserole. Sprinkle with half of brown sugar and half of butter. Repeat layers. Bake, covered at 350 F for 30 minutes.
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