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To Stew Turnips
Peel five or six turnips and put on to boil, adding a little salt to the water. When thoroughly done, mash fine through a colander, season with a teacup of cream, or milk, a tablespoonful butter, red and black pepper, and a little more salt, if needed. Stew two or three minutes. Cabbage prepared the same way is very nice.--Mrs. C. M. A.
A plain mashed-turnip purée, finished in the pan rather than the oven. The only real technique question is how wet the mash is when the cream goes in.
- Drain hardTurnips hold a great deal of water, and the recipe gives no drying step. After mashing, let the purée sit in the colander a few minutes, or return it to the dry pan over low heat and stir until it stops steaming heavily, before adding the cream.
- A teacupNineteenth-century teacups are variously reckoned at anywhere from about 1/2 to 3/4 cup, smaller than a modern mug; the book does not define the measure. Start with half of it and add more only if the mash is stiff.
- "Thoroughly done"Turnips cut into rough chunks need 20-25 minutes at a simmer, until a knife meets no resistance. Undercooked turnip will not pass through a colander and stays acrid.
- Red pepperRed pepper here means ground cayenne, not paprika or a fresh capsicum. A pinch or two is the intent; the dish should be warm rather than hot.
- Pressing through a colanderThis is a nineteenth-century sieve technique and works, but a food mill or ricer does the same job faster and gives a smoother result than a potato masher, which leaves fibrous strings.
- The two-minute stewThe final stewing is only to marry the butter and cream and drive off a little moisture. Keep the heat low and stir; cream over high heat will break and the mash will scorch on the bottom.
- Cabbage variationBoiled cabbage traps a good deal of water between the leaves. Squeeze it in a towel or press it firmly in the colander before mashing, or the cream will turn the dish soupy.
- YieldFive or six medium turnips give about 3 to 4 cups of purée, enough for six as a side dish.
Housekeeping in Old Virginia (1878) was compiled by Marion Cabell Tyree from contributions by named and initialled friends and relations, which is why this one closes with 'Mrs. C. M. A.' Turnips kept well -- sown in late summer, pulled in autumn, and stored in a cellar or a straw-lined pit -- which made them useful winter garden produce. Pressing a boiled root through a sieve or colander and enriching it with butter and cream is a long-established English practice, and pairing red pepper with black is common in Southern receipts of the period. The closing note that cabbage does just as well is typical of contributed recipes, which often offer a substitution of this kind.