Part 30

TURNIP (Brassica rapa. Cruciferæ).

For the small garden, this may be looked upon as one of the minor vegetables, for which there is no great demand. The smaller, quickly growing sorts are the varieties to select, as they occupy the ground for a shorter time, and are more tender and less coarse in flavour than the grosser kinds.

A sowing may be made in April of such turnip as Early Six Weeks in a drill alongside a row of peas or broad beans. The seed must be thinly sown, and black cotton must be stretched above to provide against the attentions of the chaffinch. As soon as the plants are in the second leaf they must be singled, and later thinned to four inches in the row.

The autumn sowing of main-crop turnips may be made about mid-July; also a quick-growing kind may be sown again. The gardener must be prepared to repeat this sowing if the turnip fly play havoc with his crop during dry weather, and on this account it is not well to thin too drastically until the plants have really started to grow. A second sowing about the 12th of August will give a good chance of partially grown plants to stand through the winter, and give in early spring a few dishes of that delicious green, turnip tops.

TURNIP DISHES.

=To Boil Turnips= (Garden, White).--Wash thoroughly, put into clean water, peel, and throw into cold water. Put into a saucepan of boiling salted water for half an hour; if tender, drain and dish them on a drainer, pour over white sauce, or Béchamel sauce.

=To Boil Turnips= (Swedes, Field Grown).--Prepare as above, then cut in quarter and halve these, making the size uniform, boil in salted water for half an hour, drain, and mash them with a little butter and a very little hot milk, pepper, and salt. Pile up, and serve hot.

=Turnip Entremets.=--Having peeled your turnips, fry them in butter, and when they are coloured, add a good tablespoonful of flour, stir well, and then add some stock, and a very little sugar; cook them over a slow fire, dish them up, and cover them with the sauce.

=Boiled Turnip Tops.=--Wash the greens thoroughly, and boil for half an hour in salted water with a tiny piece of soda, drain, and season with salt and pepper, add a little butter; or, after draining, rub through a sieve and mix with a little brown sauce.

=Baked Turnips.=--Peel, parboil, and cut into slices, put into a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with seasoned crumbs, moisten with milk or stock, and bake until brown.

=Cream Turnips.=--Cut boiled turnips into dice, reheat in a cream or white sauce, season with salt, pepper, and sugar, and serve on toast. Add a little grated nutmeg if desired. Brown sauce may be used instead of white.

=Turnip Charlotte.=--Boil white turnips until tender, drain and rub them through a sieve. To one cupful of pulp add a quarter of a cupful of thick cream, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to season, and the stiffly beaten whites of three eggs. Turn into a buttered mould, and bake in a pan of hot water, until the centre is firm. Turn out and serve with white or Béchamel sauce.

=Turnip Croquettes.=--Wash, peel, and slice turnips, boil them in salted water until very soft. Drain, press out the liquid, and wring dry in a cloth. Season with salt and pepper, mix to a smooth paste with the beaten yolk of an egg. Cool, shape into croquettes, dip in egg and then in crumbs, and fry in deep fat.

=Turnips with Sweet Potatoes.=--Boil and mash separately two yellow turnips and four large sweet potatoes, season with salt, pepper, and butter, mix, and beat until very light, put into a buttered baking dish with melted butter, and bake for twenty minutes.

=Glazed Turnips.=--(1) Boil small peeled turnips in rich stock to cover, for half an hour, add a pinch of sugar, drain, reduce the stock by rapid boiling. Brown the turnips in the oven, basting with the stock, and serve very hot.

(2) Peel small turnips, and boil for ten minutes in salted water to cover. Drain and sauté in butter, sprinkle with sugar, add a little stock and cook until tender. Season with salt, pepper, and a little cinnamon and nutmeg (if liked). Thicken the gravy with flour browned with butter.

=Purée of Turnips.=--Peel, slice, and boil until soft in salted water, rub through a sieve, season with pepper and salt, and thicken with a tablespoonful of flour cooked in butter. Add half a cupful of hot cream, in which a bit of soda has been dissolved, bring to the boil, take from the fire and add a well beaten egg. Season with a little onion juice if desired.

=Stuffed Turnips.=--Boil five turnips until soft. Drain, cut a slice from the top of each and scoop out the pulp. Mash the pulp smoothly, season with salt, pepper, and butter, sprinkle with flour, moisten with cream and add the well beaten yolk of an egg. Fill the shells, and put on the tops. Brush with beaten egg, and brown in the oven.

=Turnips au Gratin.=--Prepare according to directions given for Cauliflower au gratin.

WITLOEF. See Chicory.

VEGETABLE MARROW (Cucurbita ovifera. Ord. Cucurbitaceæ).

In its early stages the cultivation of marrows proceeds on the same lines as that of cucumbers. There are several varieties to select from, but the long green marrow is probably the best in flavour, and gives a large return.

The seed should be sown in pots in March or April, and must be grown in the hotbed. The plants must be kept well watered and warm, and in May they should be put out on richly prepared ground under cold frames. Every precaution should be taken to protect them from late frosts.

The vegetable marrow is hardier than the cucumber, and in June, plants not put out earlier may be planted in well-prepared ground in the open. Water must be given freely during dry weather, both to the plants in frames and to those outside.

As the vines grow, the tops should be pinched out to induce them to break back. And this pinching out should be continued, the shoot being pinched above each set fruit. This results in short-jointed plants well crowded with fruit. The lights from the frames may be removed about the 14th of June.

It is a mistake to let the fruit attain its full size before cutting. Small half-grown marrows are more tender and of far better flavour than large, hard fruit, which are only suitable for pickling.

DISHES.

=Boiled Vegetable Marrow.=--Peel some marrows, quarter them, and remove the seeds, put them in boiling salted water for one hour, or even longer, and boil them till tender, serve with white buttered sauce. It is not easy to over-cook a marrow, they are often under-cooked, and are then very indigestible.