What is rutabaga and what is it eaten with?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Do you like rutabaga dishes? Or have you never tasted it, or perhaps never even heard of it? But just 200 years ago, more than 300,000 tons of this uncomplicated vegetable, a relative of turnip and cabbage, were grown in Russia. Both the fruits and the tops of the swede were eaten. They ate it fresh, baked, boiled and stewed. Used for medicinal purposes for various diseases. But at present, this turnip-cabbage hybrid, for some unknown reason, has almost completely disappeared from agricultural fields and garden beds.

Botanists classify rutabagas as part of the cruciferous family, as well as cabbage and turnips. It is a herbaceous biennial plant. In the first year of sowing, leaves grow and a root crop develops, and in the second year, a stem with flowers and then seeds. The shape of the root crops, depending on the variety, is round, round, flat-round, cylindrical. The pulp of swede is usually yellow, but sometimes white, and has a specific smell, due to the essential oils it contains. The top of the rutabaga is either dark green with a yellow bottom, or purple-reddish with a yellow bottom.

Rutabaga is unusual, first of all, in that until now no one can say for sure how and when it appeared. Perhaps the rutabaga originated from the world's greatest breeder - nature through the natural crossing of turnip and cabbage. Or maybe these breeders were people who were curious and at the same time modest and therefore unknown to anyone.

There is also controversy over the country of origin. Some scientists consider Sweden to be the birthplace of rutabagas, due to the fact that the first written mentions of it are found in 1620 in the works of the Swedish botanist Kaspar Baugin.

Others are convinced that the birthplace of rutabagas is Russia.

And even the "Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language" by Vladimir Dahl contains two dozen different names for rutabagas in various regions of our country:

PANTS f. bruckla fire., gnawing hard., jaundice, earthling arch., Siberian grouse, ryganka east., cyanosis resins.

From everyday life in our country, rutabaga began to disappear with the spread of potatoes. And in Europe, it still remains among the main table root crops. They are especially fond of rutabagas in Germany, Sweden, Finland.

And in Switzerland, in the city of Richterswil, on Lake Zurich, every year in mid-November, there is even a holiday that the locals call Raben Childi. The main character at the holiday is the rutabaga. This tradition is over 100 years old.

What and to whom is rutabaga useful

Since olden times, rutabaga has been a food for children and the elderly, because it maintains vitality and strengthens the immune system.

In terms of vitamin C content, swede ranks first among root crops. In addition, the ascorbic acid in the swede is resistant to storage and heat treatment, which makes this product an irreplaceable vitamin and general tonic.

Swede contains the largest amount of calcium trace elements. Therefore, it is excellent for the treatment of patients with bone softening. In the distant past, rutabaga seeds were used to treat measles in children, they were used to gargle the throat and mouth with inflammation.

Swede juice has long been famous in folk medicine as an expectorant. Its use is considered especially useful in chronic diseases of the lungs and bronchi, with a strong dry cough, with difficulty with sputum separation. In such cases, honey rutabaga juice is prescribed, which is prepared as follows: wash medium-sized rutabagas, peel and mince. Add honey in the ratio of rutabaga-honey: 2: 1. Mix thoroughly and apply 1 dessert spoon 4-5 times a day, regardless of food.

Traditional healers also noted the diuretic effect of root vegetable juice, which was used to reduce edema in diseases of the kidneys and heart.

Also known are the bactericidal properties of rutabaga juice, which were used to heal burns of I and II degrees and various wounds.

Rutabaga improves metabolic processes, removes "harmful" cholesterol from the body, which helps to reduce the formation of cholesterol plaques on the walls of blood vessels. In this regard, rutabagas are recommended for atherosclerosis.

Due to the large amount of fiber, rutabagas enhances intestinal motility, improves metabolism and digestive process, which is especially necessary for obesity. In addition, it has a low calorie content - its energy value is only 37 kcal.

The mustard oil contained in rutabaga roots has a detrimental effect on pathogenic bacteria, and gives dishes to which this vegetable is added a slight pungency, piquant taste and aroma.

Rutabagas are sometimes referred to as one of the anti-cancer vegetables due to the anti-carcinogenic substances it contains.

What to cook from rutabaga

Rutabaga, along with turnips, can be used as a low-calorie and healthy substitute for potatoes: for making mashed potatoes, stews, side dishes. Its taste is in harmony with eggs and mushrooms. It goes well with apples and dried fruits.

This vegetable, like any others, is most useful in fresh "raw" form. You can add it to stews and stuff it.

Rutabaga salad with carrots

Coarsely grate one medium rutabaga and one large carrot. Add a handful of raisins, a handful of chopped walnuts and season with sour cream. Garnish with spicy herbs.

Rutabaga and apple salad

Scald the grated rutabaga first with boiling water, and then immediately pour over with ice water. Squeeze it out of moisture and mix with the same amount of sweet apples, cut into thin strips. For dressing, use sour cream mixed with a few drops of lemon juice and finely chopped parsley.

Swede puree

Take 800 g of swede pulp and cut it into small pieces. Place the rutabaga in a saucepan and cover with hot water so that it only covers the pieces. Salt and cook the root vegetable until soft. Crush the rutabagas with a mashed potato or use a blender.

Add 100g to the puree. melted butter and 1 glass of hot milk. Stir the puree and add salt, if necessary.

Serve with fresh parsley.

Rutabaga baked with egg

Peel the root vegetables, add water, cook until half cooked, cut into cubes or slices, sprinkle with salt, and, if desired, pepper, bread in flour and fry on both sides in butter. Mix the sour cream with a raw egg, pour over the rutabagas, sprinkle with breadcrumbs or grated cheese and bake in the oven. Serve on the table with sour cream.

Apricot, rutabaga and cottage cheese pudding

• swede - 75 g
• apricot - 50 g,
• cottage cheese - 50 g,
• 1 egg white
• milk - 30 g,
• butter - 10 g,
• sugar - 10 g
• semolina - 10 g,
• sour cream - 30 g.

Chop the rutabaga with "noodles" and simmer with 5 g of butter and milk; when the rutabaga is ready, put cereals, sugar and soaked, finely chopped apricots in it; knead and cool all this mass; then add the grated cottage cheese and whipped protein, mix, put in a greased mold, pour over with butter and bake. Serve with sour cream.

Rutabaga porridge

• 2 rutabagas,
• 1-2 onions
• 1, 5 glasses of milk,
• 1 tbsp. a spoonful of flour
• 1 tbsp. spoon of oil.

Boil rutabagas in water, make mashed potatoes from it, add onion fried in oil, salt, pour milk and heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes.

Rutum-cereal porridge

• 0.5 cups buckwheat,
• 2 tbsp. tablespoons of barley (pearl barley),
• 1 rutabaga,
• 2, 5 glasses of milk,
• 2-3 st. tablespoons of oil.

Boil the cereals until half cooked in water, add finely chopped rutabagas, cook the cereals until the water evaporates. Then add milk, salt, grind everything into a homogeneous mass.

Swiss fried rutabaga

Boil the peeled rutabaga in salted milk, cut into slices. Roll each slice in flour, then in an egg and grated cheese. Dip again in an egg, breaded in breadcrumbs and fry on both sides. Serve the sauce separately.

Sauce. 1 tbsp. fry a spoonful of flour in 2 tbsp. spoons of butter, add 1, 5 cups of milk, in which the rutabaga was cooked, boil, add 2 raw yolks, mix.

Rutabaga stuffed with cottage cheese

Peel the rutabagas, boil, cool. Cut the root vegetable in half and make holes in the pulp for the filling. In 300 g of fatty cottage cheese, add 0.5 tbsp. spoons of amaranth flour, 2 eggs, 2 tbsp. spoons of honey, 20 g of butter and chopped rutabaga pulp. Salt the minced meat, mix, fill the rutabaga halves with it, sprinkle with melted butter and bake in the oven. Serve sour cream separately.

Rutabaga stewed with honey

Recommended for chronic respiratory diseases. 0.5 kg rutabaga cut into cubes, simmer slightly in 50 g butter, add 3 tbsp. spoons of honey and simmer until tender. Sprinkle the finished dish with chopped walnuts.

Rutabaga muffin

You can prepare delicious pastries with rutabaga - a muffin, which is much lower in calories than traditional sweets.

Ingredients: flour will need 1-0, 5 cups, sugar - ¼ cup, peeled grated turnip - 1 cup, vegetable oil - ¼ cup, milk and honey - 0.5 cups each, ground ginger - 1 tsp, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt - 0.5 tsp each, 1 egg and powdered sugar to taste.

Cooking. Dry flour is mixed in a bowl with baking powder and spices, and in another bowl, an egg is mixed with sugar, honey, milk, butter and rutabaga. Beat everything, and then combine with flour and knead the dough. The finished dough is poured into a greased cake pan and baked in the oven for about 30-35 minutes at 180 ° C. The cupcake is ready when the straw being tested is dry. The finished cake is cooled and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Contraindications for the use of swede

There are not so many contraindications to the use of swede: acute gastrointestinal diseases - gastritis, colitis, enteritis and some kidney diseases. Drinking rutabaga juice too often can cause gas and bloating in the intestines.

Secrets of growing swede

The current seed market does not at all reflect the whole variety of rutabagas (the collection of the NI Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Industry in St. Petersburg contains more than 250 varieties of this crop from different countries of the world). And only a few old common varieties are available for sale. These are Krasnoselskaya, Swedish, Latvian varieties Dzeltenie abolu, Pskovskaya local, Esko, Kohalik sinine. If you decide to try sowing rutabaga for the first time, take Krasnoselskaya.

Unpretentious swede can grow on any soil, but the best option would be sandy loam and loam. You can cultivate it on acidic soils, you just need to add ash or lime to the soil. Avoid shaded areas, with a lack of light, plants will not develop well. Fresh manure is harmful to root crops, but compost is the best delicacy for them.

It should not be planted after closely related plants, it can be cabbage, turnip, radish, etc. But the predecessors in the form of legumes, nightshades, pumpkin are perfect.

From autumn, make sure that the rutabagas are not disturbed by weeds. Loosen the area to a shallow depth, this will provoke the growth of grass. After two weeks, dig deeply, embedding fresh growth under the ground. When digging, add compost and trace elements to the soil. Pay special attention to sodium, which makes the root vegetable more tender, and boron - with a lack of this element, the pulp becomes brown and tasteless.

Rutabaga is cold-resistant, you can sow it already at the beginning of May. Mother-and-stepmother will tell you the exact time: when it blooms, you can start sowing. The beds are dug deeply and loosened. In light soils, seeds can be sown on the same day, and clay soil must be kept for 1-2 days until the soil dries up.

Soak the seeds for half an hour in water with a temperature of about 50 ° C, this procedure will make the plants more resistant to diseases. Dry the grains, mix with sand or fine tea leaves and sow on the garden bed. The distance between the rows should be about half a meter, the planting depth should be 1–2 cm. For better contact of the seeds with the soil, the soil can be slightly compacted. After the appearance of two true leaves, the plants are thinned out so that the distance between them is 20–25 cm.

Rutabaga needs a lot of moisture, especially in the first and last months of the growing season. The plant does not tolerate heat and dry air - the root crop becomes rough and bitter.

In the process of development, the lower leaves of the tops gradually die off. One should not think that a sign of illness or unfavorable conditions, such is the peculiarity of this plant.

The growing season of swede is about 4 months, during which time the root crop gains up to 1 kg. You need to harvest before frost. The collected plants are dried, the tops are cut off and laid in vegetable stores. Root crops with thick lateral roots are discarded: they have a rough, tasteless pulp.

Storage

The optimum temperature for storing swede is 0… –1 ° C with an air humidity of 90–95%. A well-proven method of storing swede in plastic bags. At the same time, conditions are created for increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide and the relative humidity of the air, which contributes to better preservation of root crops. You can store it for a couple of months in a cool place in the apartment.

Nowadays, you will not surprise anyone with overseas artichokes, capers or avocados - they can be purchased at any supermarket. And if you want to feed your family or guests with something unusual, tasty and healthy, serve the food of our great-grandmothers - undeservedly forgotten rutabagas.