the.com/rutabaga
the lovechild of a cabbage and turnip, carved into jack-o'-lanterns before pumpkins stole the gig
means A hardy root vegetable with yellowish flesh, milder and sweeter than a turnip, eaten roasted, mashed, or in stews.
from From the Swedish dialect word 'rotabagge,' literally 'root bag' or 'root ram' — 'rot' meaning root, 'bagge' a stubby, lumpy thing. The vegetable itself is a genuine hybrid of cabbage and turnip, which is why much of the world calls it the 'swede,' honoring its Scandinavian fame. Americans borrowed the chunkier Swedish name in the early 19th century, while the British 'neep' tradition kept it carved and candlelit long before pumpkins arrived.
- hybrid origin
- Accidental cross of turnip and wild cabbage
- original lantern
- Carved into spooky faces in old Scotland and Ireland
- war food
- Kept Germany alive during 1916 famine winter
- swede alias
- Called swede across most of the British Isles
- frost sweetener
- Cold weather turns its starch into sugar
swedish turnip — root vegetable from scandinavia, 90% of production in sweden and finland
neeps — scottish/northern english name for rutabagas, traditional with haggis on burns night
swede — british common name, major crop in uk agriculture since 18th century introduction