Root vegetables are a hearty bunch and have much to offer beyond the beloved carrot. They don’t require delicate handling, like so many other produce items, and they add robust flavor and presence to any soup or stew, casserole or stir fry. Substituting any root vegetable for potatoes is an easy way to mix up your recipe repertoire, too. Try mashed turnips and hash brown rutabagas, for example, or celeriac chips and parsnip fries! Or celebrate these workhorses by crafting a potpie using an assortment of root veggies.
Flavor Profile
- Root vegetables share similarities in taste; they’re sweet and starchy
- Golden beets are slightly sweeter than red beets
- Baby beets are also sweeter than red beets
- Celeriac has a pleasant celery flavor
- Radishes are crisp and peppery
- Carrots are sweet and crisp
How to Choose a Good One
- Beets should be smooth, hard, uniformly round, free of cuts and bruises
- Choose small beets (sweeter and more tender than large beets) with bright green leaves (nutritious) and unblemished skin. Avoid large beets with hairy tap roots, which means they’re old and tough
- Buy carrots with the greens still attached; these will be sweeter and fresher than those without
- Choose celeriac that is heavy for its size, with smallish roots
- Choose small, crisp parsnips
- Select firm, fresh-looking radishes
- Choose turnips that are small and feel heavy for their size
Peak Season
- Many root vegetables are available year round
- Peak time for parsnips is fall into spring
- Beets are available year round, and June through October is their peak season
- Turnips and rutabagas peak in fall and winter
- Peak season for celeriac is November through April
- Horseradish is available year round but most plentiful in fall and early spring
- Salsify is available from fall to early spring
- Peak time is October through April
Nutritional Highlights
- Beet leaves are high in vitamin A and potassium, low in calories
- The beet root is a good source of vitamin C and potassium and a fair source of vitamin A. It’s naturally high in sodium
- Carrots are a great source of vitamin A
General Use
- White root sugar beets are grown in the U.S. for granulated sugar
- Most red table beets are canned
- Young beets are tender and finely textured, good in salads (larger beets are more suitable for cooking)
- Celeriac is routinely used in French cooking
- To cook most root veggies, roast or mash, or cook slowly in little liquid
- Add to stir fries
- Make chips or fries out of any root vegetable
- Root vegetables are good for gratins, hash browns, root vegetable salads, soups (Borsch) and stews
- Most root vegetables can be pickled
- Add to salads (grated or cubed), or simply served tossed with vinaigrette dressing (Parsnips are not served raw, however)
- Include any root vegetable in pot pies
Complements
Allspice, apples, basil, chives, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, curry powder, dill weed, goat cheese, mace, mangoes, marjoram, nutmeg, oranges, parsley, nutmeg, tarragon, thyme, walnuts.
