Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2017 July 12

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July 12

German turnips

My lack of knowledge of the German language is letting me down. I was editing our Blockade of Germany article and need to confirm that Steckrüben are yellow Swedish turnips and not a white turnips, which are two different beasts. Alansplodge (talk) 17:35, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Well Steckrübeneintopf says it's made from swedes. I think you need a Speiserübe Perhaps User:Gerda Arendt could help us. I'm a bit useless with roots. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:46, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

(ec) The German article identifies de:Steckrüben as Brassica napus subsp. rapifera as does Swedish turnip, whereas Turnip is Brassica rapa. --Wrongfilter (talk) 17:51, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

And it links to rutabaga (aka as swede, Schwedish turnip) which is different from (white) turnip. --Hofhof (talk) 17:54, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Thank you all most kindly. I knew somebody would know. Alansplodge (talk) 17:56, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Resolved

Never too late to add some trivia: Since Alan's question was prompted by the Steckrübenwinter (Turnip Winter): All the reports I found that included images showed the rutabaga, as answered above. Said season is also sometimes referred to as Kohlrübenwinter ("Kohlrübe" being a synonym of "Steckrübe"). At the time, the root was also nicknamed "Hindenburg-Knolle" (Hindenburg tuber). ---Sluzzelin talk 18:47, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Yes indeed. (His article is a whopper too). The term was pejorative, it seems. And the lowly root was even used to make "coffee". Martinevans123 (talk) 19:46, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

I think of yellow "turnips" as rutabagas. In any case, en.wiktionary is often a big help with questions such as this. See wikt:Steckrübe. (If you don't know the singular form, then look up wikt:Steckrüben.) —Stephen (talk) 19:59, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

(responding to Martin). Indeed it was a pejorative term; people must have had the Steckrüben up to here! And I doubt they were prepared à la Ottolenghi. ---Sluzzelin talk 20:26, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Late: de:Steckrübe given as rutabaga, and yes, they couldn't stand it any more. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:40, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

I've never heard of rutabaga, here in the south of England it's called "Swede" but in the NE of England and Scotland it's just "turnip" (or in dialect, "neeps"), since the white sort never seems to have made it's way that far north. To be fair, white turnip has very little to recommend it except to bulk out a stew. Alansplodge (talk) 21:53, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Try telling that to Charlie. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:58, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Well, old "Turnip" Townshend was using his turnips as fodder rather than actually eating the things. [1] Alansplodge (talk) 22:14, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

It's the normal use: feed them to animals. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:17, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Or to make jack-o'-lanterns. StuRat (talk) 22:22, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

A very tiny one - they're generally quite a bit smaller than a tennis ball (we were talking about white turnips I believe). Alansplodge (talk) 22:28, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Beware, there's over 8 minutes of this. Martinevans123 (talk) 22:36, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

But they are Swedes (which are called turnips in Scotland). Alansplodge (talk) 10:18, 13 July 2017 (UTC)

I thought mangelwurzels were the original jack-o'-lanterns? - Nunh-huh 01:48, 13 July 2017 (UTC)

Which article brings us neatly back to the start, as it describes a nutrient deficiency called "mangel-wurzel disease", which was suffered by Germans who ate only root vegetables. Alansplodge (talk) 16:37, 13 July 2017 (UTC)