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i have read in one book that swedes are a brassica but in dobies catalogue they say that they are a root. what do other people think

Brassica as they suffer from club root.

I believe the swede to actually be a swollen stem rather than a root.

HTH

Jerry

They are definitely Brassicas, but I've seen them referred to as Root Vegetables quite alot, and even the BBC have got it wrong

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/back_to_basics/rootveg.shtml

They can suffer from clubroot especially in acid soils and prefer pH of 6.5 - 7.0

And of course there is a regional argument over turnips and swede. To my way of thinking, turnips are relatively small, and white (or pale) perhaps with purple tops. Swede are orange coloured and generally much larger.

If you can bear it ... a swede is a brassica whose root (or is it a swollen stem? :o :o) is eaten. Like saying broccoli is a brassica whose flower is eaten. It's more helpful to classify as a brassica as it helps with rotation. Isn't brassica one of the biggest and most diverse family groups? ::)

There is always confusion between Swedes and Turnips yet they are different species within the  Brassicae. Swedes are B. napus and Turnips B. campestris var rapa. 
As far as I am aware both are swollen stem bases although unfortunately some books refer to them as roots. Swedes usually have a purple skin and yellow/orange flesh. They are very hardy and although they can be left in the ground overwinter they are often pulled and stored in a clamp. Turnips are smaller and may be flatter in shape. They can have white or white and purple skins. The flesh is usually white.
Both are good for eating raw or cooked, although I prefer the stronger taste of a Swede especially when mashed with potatoes. Very often they are pulled and fed to sheep or cattle or grazed in situ as winter feed for sheep. In Scotland I believe it is the Turnip (neeps) which is mashed and served with haggis.
It is possible to eat the leaves of Turnip as 'spring greens'.

All my Scottish friends refer to swedes as neeps, and use them with their haggis (though several have just plain mince rather than haggis!)

same here anneski, and my OH is insisting that the orange one is a turnip and the white one is a swede and we usually have the orange one with haggis  :o

i usually mash swede with carrot and potato with parsnip, not had done tatas with swede before and not had haggis for ages so note to self: put on shopping list

I always thought that Swedes were inhabitants of one of the Baltic States ;D

Quote from: MrsKP on March 25, 2006, 17:13:43
same here anneski, and my OH is insisting that the orange one is a turnip and the white one is a swede

Sorry have to disagree on this one, Swedes have orange flesh, Turnips are white.

In Ireland, Scotland and some parts of Northern England a turnip or neep, is the large yellow turnip of Swedish origin, and the small white variety is called a 'white turnip'. This pattern is repeated elsewhere, such as parts of Canada.

Basically people seem to refer to whichever type they have most commonly as a turnip.

That is correct!!!! I always call the Swede a Turnip (Scot.borders).  and the small white turnip I call a 'snowball'

Oh no, what have I started ! I will be labelled as a troll now - argghh!  :D

Quote from: Toadspawn on March 25, 2006, 19:34:23

Quote from: MrsKP on March 25, 2006, 17:13:43
same here anneski, and my OH is insisting that the orange one is a turnip and the white one is a swede

Sorry have to disagree on this one, Swedes have orange flesh, Turnips are white.

oh i agree with you as well toadspawn.  i'm just convincing him now  ;D

A hearty 'yes' on the regional differences between turnips and swedes.

Being from 'up north' a...

- turnip is big and orange
- a swede is little and white

I remember going off to university and being faced with a paradoxical and puzzling alternative; this sparked interest amongst wayward science students, and prompted a swift, hilariously conducted, survey of  the Biology Dept.

Result? Very clear cut. Despite all that seed packets and vegetable texts may say.

Southern fields bring forth little white turnips and big orange swedes.
Northern fields are full of little white swedes and mega orange turnips.

The odd anomaly was cleared up when the geographical origins of the students' parents was investigated!

:D

Yet another example of people being divided by a common name! Maybe we should start communicating in botanical Latin, and confuse each other even more.

Toadspawn: I'm not going to get involved with the bigger argument, but yes you can eat the leaves. I prefer them sautéed in butter because they don't wilt down as much. I've heard somewhere that there's a variety of turnip that's grown specifically for its leaves, but you can eat the leaves of most things, with the exception of potato, tomato and rhubarb of course. Perhaps somebody more knowledgeable will step in...

Geoff.

Navet de Nancy is one possibility (edible leaves)

http://www.vidaverde.co.uk/turnips.html

Quote from: euronerd on March 26, 2006, 22:58:34
There's a variety of turnip that's grown specifically for its leaves

You can eat all turnip greens, but some are more luscious than others! Like beetroot, some have been bred to produce more leaves. A whole subsection of Oriental brassicas - including some 'broccoli' - are described as 'turnip greens'.

Or should that be rutabaga?
http://www.eseeds.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=792058&prmenbr=127&CGRY_NUM=
::) ;D ;D

Quote from: Gadfium on March 27, 2006, 01:46:21
Navet de Nancy is one possibility (edible leaves)

http://www.vidaverde.co.uk/turnips.html

NdN produce the best greens in my opinion, delicious.