Why it works: Turnip and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 29% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,330 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
To Boil Turnips
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and brush the turnips in cold water.
Pare away the thick skin, cutting down until a line can be seen.
Soak the turnips in cold water until ready to cook.
Boil and glaze
If large, cut them in halves and place in boiling water.
Cover the pan and boil until tender.
Transfer to a stewpan, cover with stock, and add 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Boil quickly until the sauce reduces to a glaze.
Shake the pan to coat the turnips with the glaze and serve.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Turnip + sugartop 29% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,330 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Turnips
- Provide the main vegetable body that becomes tender when boiled and then glazed.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the reduced stock form a glossy glaze on the turnips.
- Stock
- Supplies savoury liquid that reduces into a flavourful sauce clinging to the turnips.
The step that matters
Boil quickly until the sauce reduces to a glaze. If the liquid is boiled too gently it will not reduce, and if it reduces too far the sugar and stock can scorch or turn bitter. Watching the pan keeps the sauce glossy and clinging.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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