Ingredient

Swede

A swede is a large, heavy, purple-and-buff root with dense yellow flesh, and it is among the cheapest vegetables sold in Britain. It is also sweeter and more interesting than its reputation allows, and almost all of that reputation comes from being boiled hard and mashed without enough butter.

What it is

A swede is a cross between a turnip and a cabbage, and it shows: it has the density and sweetness of a root with a distinct brassica note underneath. The flesh is yellow-orange, denser and drier than a turnip, and considerably sweeter.

The names are a mess. It is a swede in England, a neep or turnip in Scotland, a rutabaga in North America, and a Swedish turnip in older cookbooks. A Scottish recipe for neeps and tatties means this vegetable, not the small white one.

It is usually sold waxed, which is why the skin looks shiny and feels slightly tacky. That wax is there to stop it drying out in storage, and it comes off with the peel.

Getting into one

They are hard, heavy and round, which is the awkward combination.

1. Cut a flat slice off the top and the bottom so it stands stable and cannot roll. This is the safety step and it is not optional with something this dense.
2. Stand it on a flat end and cut down the sides with a knife rather than a peeler — the skin is thick and waxed and a peeler struggles.
3. Halve it, then quarter it, then cut into whatever shape you need.
4. Expect it to be hard work. A good sharp heavy knife matters more here than with any other vegetable in the rack.
5. If it is genuinely fighting you, microwave the whole thing for a few minutes first, which softens it enough to cut safely.

How to cook it well

• Roasted in chunks, which is the most underrated thing you can do with a swede. It caramelises beautifully and goes sweet and nutty.
• Mashed properly — steamed or boiled until genuinely tender, drained very well and left to steam dry, then mashed with a great deal of butter, black pepper and a grating of nutmeg. The butter is not optional; swede mash without it is watery and sad.
• Clapshot — Orkney, swede and potato mashed together with butter and chives. Better than either alone.
• In a pasty, where it is traditional and where the Cornish version specifically wants swede rather than turnip.
• In a stew or a broth, in chunks, where it sweetens the liquid.
• As chips, cut into batons and roasted hard. Lower in starch than potato so a different texture, and very good.
• Grated raw into a slaw, which nobody does and which works.
• Steamed rather than boiled, if you are mashing it. Swede takes on water enthusiastically and a waterlogged mash is the usual complaint.

Buying and storing

Weight

Heavy for its size. A light swede has dried out and will be spongy or hollow in the middle.

Size

Medium beats enormous. Very large swedes are more likely to be woody or hollow at the centre.

Skin

Firm all over, with no soft patches, splits or mould around the top. The waxed shine is normal.

Season

Autumn through winter is the British season, and swede is best and cheapest then. It stores well enough to be available most of the year.

Storage whole

Weeks in a cool, dry, airy place, or the fridge. It is one of the longest-keeping vegetables there is.

Storage cut

Wrap the cut face and refrigerate, and use within a few days. Cooked and mashed, it freezes well.

Common questions