The turnip, a vegetable that is not widely grown in Hawaii, has been popping up at farmers markets. We’re talking turnips here, not radishes, which are often mistakenly referred to as turnips. Red radishes, daikon and those oblong greenish-white Korean radishes are radishes: the plump, crisp, juicy, mild-to-spicy vegetable that we slice into salads, pickle as kim chee or braise in soy sauce and sugar.

A turnip is a smooth root vegetable, small and round, with a purplish skin. Turnips and radishes are both root vegetables with leafy green tops. Both are members of the Brassica family; turnips are Brassica rapa, Rapifera group, while radishes are Raphanus sativus.

A turnip’s flesh is usually white, denser than that of a radish and slightly sweet when young and small. As a turnip gets older, its flavor can be stronger, closer to cabbage or mustard. Turnips are delicious raw and can be used on a vegetable platter or sliced into a salad. Cook a turnip until just tender to retain its mild, nice flavor. Turnips can be steamed, diced and sautéed in butter, added to soups and stews and even roasted in the oven. In short, they are quite delicious and worth searching for at a farmers market.

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Hawaii food writer Joan Namkoong offers a weekly tidbit on fresh seasonal products, many of them locally grown.