what you should know

"Root vegetables! Get yer squircle root vegetables here!" That's what it might sound like if there was a guy walking around this weekend's Super Bowl selling turnips with the stadium dogs and the cups of beer.

But that scenario is as unlikely as a victory by the Giants, who know as well as anyone that you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip.

sweet little turnip What you can squeeze out of a turnip is a clean, slightly sweet, peppery flavor -- at times almost a nutty horseradish bite. (Like the parsnip, the turnip sweetens when exposed to frost.) Look for smaller turnips with smooth skin that are firm to the touch. Larger turnips tend to be woody and rough-tasting.

turnip green bottoms If you can, buy turnips that still have their bright green tops and use them in the same way you use mustard greens. In the South, where cooking greens are popular, turnips are sometimes even called "turnip green bottoms."

turnip day Public opinion polls show that this Congress is one of the least popular in modern history. Maybe it needs another "Turnip Day" address.

when in mass The Macomber turnip is a local legend in Massachusetts.

what you need

We're finally getting around to exploring two turnip-featuring cookbooks that came out around the holidays: Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and Alice Waters' elegant new book, The Art of Simple Food.

We talk about peelers so often that we may have to run an OXO peeler PSA to run alongside our service announcement about tongs.

what you do

For a dish with so few ingredients, these glazed turnips taste surprisingly complex. The richness of the butter and the light sprinkle of sugar draw out the turnip's inherent sweetness.

Simplicity again: grated raw turnips and carrots with a deeply flavorful Asian dressing. A sweet and sour salad to play off a rich roasted meat dish.

Tossing in turnips adds some texture to the classic dish of bangers and cabbage and makes it a more complete meal.

Turnips have a lot of water in them, so even dry-roasted turnips come out of the oven moist and steaming.