Roots · Turnip
How to pick a good Turnip
Heavy for its size and hard all over — on a purple-top, a vivid saturated shoulder too
How to pick
Cup the turnip in your whole hand and feel the weight — a fresh turnip is surprisingly dense and heavy for its diameter, with zero give anywhere on the surface. On a purple-top turnip, look for the characteristic two-tone skin: a bright, saturated purple-violet shoulder on top giving way to a clean white lower body, with a crisp color boundary between the two. Single-color varieties such as Golden Ball have no shoulder to read, so judge those on weight and skin alone. Smooth, unblemished skin signals good water retention. Aim for medium-sized roots — roughly 3–4 inches (7.5–10 cm) in diameter — which have more tender flesh than very large roots, which can develop a pithy or spongy center that shows no external warning.
Red flags
- Any give under a gentle palm cradle — indicates moisture loss or early internal breakdown
- Skin wrinkling or shriveling anywhere on the surface — the root has lost significant moisture and will taste bland and spongy
- Shoulder color washed-out to brownish or mottled purple — anthocyanin has broken down well past freshness; root will taste bland and fibrous
- Water-soaked, dark, or sunken patches on the skin — bacterial soft rot that spreads quickly through the root
- Unusually large size (wider than a tennis ball, over 4 inches [10 cm]) — pithiness and woodiness risk with no reliable external signal
How to store
Remove tops before refrigerating — they draw moisture from the root and accelerate deterioration. Store bare roots unwashed in a perforated bag or loosely closed bag in the refrigerator crisper as close to 32 °F (0 °C) as possible — home fridges typically run 35–40 °F (2–4 °C), which is acceptable — at 90–95% humidity; keeps 2–3 weeks at home refrigerator temperatures. Do not store near ethylene-producing fruits such as apples or pears — they accelerate turnip decline. If keeping the tops (turnip greens are nutritious), store them separately in a damp paper towel in a sealed bag and use within 2–3 days.
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Picking, storage, and freshness guidance is drawn from peer-reviewed postharvest research and agricultural extension sources. The sources are named in the app.