The word turnip appears in many regions, yet its origin remains uncertain. One hypothesis suggests it combines turn as in turned or rounded on a lathe with neep derived from Latin napus the word for the plant. An Universal Etymological English Dictionary published in 1721 states that turn refers to round napus to distinguish it from napi which were generally long. This linguistic puzzle highlights how farmers and traders needed clear ways to describe different root vegetables during centuries of agricultural exchange.
Domestication History
Wild forms of the turnip and its relatives like mustards and radishes are found over western Asia and Europe. Starting as early as 2000 BCE related oilseed subspecies of Brassica rapa like oleifera may have been domesticated several times from the Mediterranean to India though these are not the same turnips cultivated for their roots. Edible turnips were first domesticated in Central Asia several thousand years ago supported by genetic studies showing Central Asian varieties are the most genetically diverse crops. Ancient literary references to turnips in Central Asia and words for turnip in ancestral languages of the region also support this origin story. It later spread to Europe and East Asia where farmers selected for larger leaves. The vegetable became an important food in the Hellenistic and Roman world among Jews in antiquity who regarded it as a food of the poor. Rabbinic sources observe that turnips were consumed fresh boiled or ground with flavor enhanced when cooked with meat. The turnip later spread to China and reached Japan by 700 CE.Antebellum American Cuisine
Turnips were an important crop in the cuisine of Antebellum America grown for both greens and roots. They could yield edible greens within a few weeks of planting making them a staple of new plantations still becoming productive. Farmers could plant them as late as fall and still provide newly arrived settlers with a source of food. The typical southern way of cooking turnip greens involved boiling them with a chunk of salt pork. The broth obtained from this process was known as pot likker and served with crumbled corn pone often made from coarse meal when little else was available along the antebellum frontier. Sam Bowers Hilliard documented these practices in Hog Meat and Hoecake: Food Supply in the Old South 1840, 1860 published in 2014.