14 October: Turnips

The French Revolutionary Calendar honoured the Turnip on this date. Here are some things you might not know about this vegetable:

1. The Latin name for the turnip is Brassica rapa.
2. Turnips were domesticated in India before the 15th century BC. The plant was first grown for its oil-bearing seeds. Ancient Greeks and Romans also grew them.
3. Sappho, the 7th century Greek poet, called one of her paramours Gongýla, meaning "turnip".
4. Pliny the elder was a big fan of turnips. "Its utility surpasses that of any other plant," he wrote. Not only could turnips be fed to farm animals, they were easy to grow and didn't rot in the ground if left there until the next harvest, so they could "prevent the effects of famine".
5. Turnips are a biennial plant, taking two years from germination to reproduction. The root spends the first year growing and storing nutrients, and the second year the plant flowers, produces seeds, and dies.
6. Turnips are a good source of Vitamins A, C and K as well as calcium and lutein. A medium raw turnip contains about 34 calories and no cholesterol.
7. Turnips contain chemicals called cyanoglucosides that release small amounts of cyanide. The ability to taste these chemicals is an inherited characteristic. People with the genes for tasting cyanoglucosides will find turnips bitter to taste.
8. Is it a turnip or a swede? It depends where in the world you are. In the south of England the smaller white vegetables are called turnips, while the larger yellow ones are referred to as swedes. In Scotland, Ireland, northern England and parts of Canada, it's the other way round. In the USA, Swedes are usually called rutabagas. In Scotland, turnips are often called neeps, and are traditional fare on Burns Night.
9. In Lebanon, they pickle turnips and in Iran, they are boiled with salt and used as a remedy for coughs and colds.
10. The coats of arms of Leonhard von Keutschach, prince-archbishop of Salzburg and the area of Keutschach am See in Austria feature turnips.