Turnip, Gilfeather
Turnip, Gilfeather
Organic. Pete's Greens in Craftsbury, VT
The Gilfeather turnip, a rutabaga-turnip hybrid, is mild, sweet and delightfully creamy, not having the bite of a normal turnip. First cultivated by John Gilfeather in the early 1900s at a farm on Gilfeather Road in Wardsboro, VT. Gilfeather was a secretive man. He wouldn’t say how he originally grew this unique turnip and went to great lengths to make sure he was the only one who could grow them. He carefully shaved the individual root hairs and cut the tops off each turnip before bringing them to market. Somehow, William and Mary Lou Schmidt got a hold of some seeds and in the 1970s, a few decades after Gilfeather’s passing, they commercialized them and got them trademarked and certified as an heirloom botanical through the Vermont and United State Departments of Agriculture. In May 2016, the Gilfeather Turnip became Vermont’s state vegetable. If this doesn't make you want to at least TRY this turnip, then I don't know what will. Roast it, mash it, puree it, fry it into Latkes, make it into soup!