Celebrating Burns Night with organic neeps

The story of the organic neep AKA turnip AKA Swede...

Angus Elder of Chapel Farm Organics, North Berwick, tells his journey of the neep in time for Burns Night.

The identity of a neep is commonly thought of as a proud, hardy variety of the Swede family and a staple in the winter Scottish diet so read on to find out how it happens & just what you can do with it…

Chapel Farm drills the neep seed at the end of May, early June meshing it straight away for flea beetle, only taken off for weeding.

Weeding is done a couple of times during the growing season by hand or using a self-propelled, solar powered robot, the first usually being2-3 weeks after drilling. Others mechanically interrow weed using a tractor.

Neeps are harvested towards the end of September/early October and are topped and tailed in the field keeping the dirt there, so they don’t rot. Bigger growers lift by harvester and wash.

They are packed for storage straight away and can be stored for up to 6 weeks. They are usually sold through wholesalers Organic World in Bathgate, but also to local vegbox suppliers such as Moss-Organics.

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So what are neeps used for?

We all know the ancient tradition of carving neeps at Halloween, traditionally carved in Scotland instead of pumpkins & much harder work!

Excess neeps not sold as veg are stockpiled and fed to sheep as a last resort but by far the most popular use in Scotland is to serve it mashed on Burns night with haggis and tatties, celebrating Scotland’s rustic but simple and full of flavour food heritage. Reportedly Robert Burns' friends held a last supper in his memory featuring this classic trio which is where this classic dish began.

Recipe

Neep is best served chappit, meaning mashed, with mashed tattie and haggis!

Peel, chop, boil till tender, mash & add lashings of butter to taste.

Serve with pepper and nutmeg. Enjoy!

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