Scalloped Turnips.—Prepare and boil whole white turnips until nearly tender; cut into thin slices, lay in an earthen pudding dish, pour over them a white sauce sufficient to cover, made by cooking a tablespoonful of flour in a pint of milk, part cream if preferred, until thickened. Season with salt, sprinkle the top lightly with grated bread crumbs, and bake in a quick oven until a rich brown. Place the baking dish on a clean plate, and serve. Rich milk or cream may be used instead of white sauce, if preferred.
Steamed Turnips.—Select turnips of uniform size, wash, pare, and steam rapidly till they can be easily pierced with a fork; mash, or serve with lemon juice or cream sauce, as desired.
Stewed Turnips.—Prepare and slice some young, fresh white turnips, boil or steam about twenty minutes, drain thoroughly, turn into a saucepan with a cup of new milk for each quart of turnips; simmer gently until tender, season with salt if desired, and serve.
Turnips in Juice.—Wash young white turnips, peel, and boil whole in sufficient water to keep them from burning. Cover closely and cook gently until tender, by which time the water in the kettle should be reduced to the consistency of syrup. Serve at once.
Turnips with Cream Sauce.—Wash and pare the turnips, cut them into half-inch dice, and cook in boiling water until tender. Meanwhile prepare a cream sauce as directed for Scalloped Turnips, using thin cream in place of milk. Drain the turnips, pour the cream sauce over them, let them boil up once, and serve.
PARSNIPS.
Description.—The common garden parsnip is derived by cultivation from the wild parsnip, indigenous to many parts of Europe and the north of Asia, and cultivated since Roman times. It is not only used for culinary purposes, but a wine is made from it. In the north of Ireland a table beer is brewed from its fermented product and hops.
The percentage of nutritive elements contained in the parsnip is very small; so small, indeed, that one pound of parsnips affords hardly one fifth of an ounce of nitrogenous or muscle-forming material. The time required for its digestion, varies from two and one half to three and one half hours.
Preparation and Cooking.—Wash and trim off any rough portions: scrape well with a knife to remove the skins, and drop at once into cold water to prevent discoloration. If the parsnips are smooth-skinned, fresh, and too small to need dividing, they need only be washed thoroughly before cooking, as the skins can be easily removed by rubbing with a clean towel. Reject those that are wilted, pithy, coarse, or stringy. Large parsnips should be divided, for if cooked whole, the outside is likely to become soft before the center is tender. They may be either split lengthwise or sliced. Parsnips may be boiled, baked, or steamed; but like all other vegetables containing a large percentage of water, are preferable steamed or baked.