Freezing Turnips

Turnips are one of those crops that no one really talks about.  You see them for sale in the grocery store, but rarely ever see anyone actually buy them.  Growing up in my house turnips were never on the menu, so I didn't even know what they tasted like or how to prepare them until last year.  I saw them in the store last fall and decided to get a couple to see if I even liked them.  I prepared them quite simply by peeling them and chopping them into chunks and boiling them until they were soft.  I thought they tasted a lot like the thick stems of broccoli and had that crisper texture like a kohlrabi.  I heard that the greens were edible too, but the ones at the store come with those chopped off, so I never got to try that part.

Since my second attempt at growing turnips was going so well, I have been able to start harvesting the roots as they get big enough.  Right now I am mostly thinning the largest turnips in the bed to leave more room for the smaller ones to grow.  I think I planted this crop about 6-8 weeks ago so it grows very fast and makes a good inbetween crop for an empty garden bed.  In the past week I was able to harvest about 10 good sized turnips and decided that I should preserve this harvest in the freezer.

I removed the tops and the roots of the plants and then peeled off the tough outer skin.  Then I sliced them into half inch chunks while I waited for a small pot of water to boil.

I blanched them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then plunged them into an ice bath for a few minutes.

Once they were drained and dried for a few minutes I measured them into ziploc bags for freezing.  Each bag should be enough for a couple of portions for a meal.  This round of freezing gave me about 6 cups of turnips chunks, which I aldded to the 8 cups that I had frozen the week before.

When it was all said and done I decided to give the peels to the chickens for a special treat.  They love getting scraps from the garden and I love the fact that it's free food and entertainment for them.  I am doing anything I can to keep my feed costs down and the garden has a lot of excess right now so they get it all.