What Are Rutabagas?

Creamy mashed Rutabaga like my family makes by Ed Powers ‘What are rutabagas?’ was the question I asked myself when introduced to this vegetable by my wife and in-laws.  They had a tradition of having rutabagas for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, a tradition brought over from England and Canada.  I must admit, I found rutabagas to be very good and we now have them every Holiday Season. It’s like having mashed potatoes, but they are rutabagas.  In Michigan, where we lived, rutabagas were easy to find (grown in Canada and shipped in).  Here in Colorado, not so much.  So, I had to do some research to see if I might be able to grow them at my altitude (7,600’).  When doing the research, I found some interesting information. Rutabaga’s botanical name is Brassica napobrassica, and rutabagas are only called ‘rutabaga’ in the U.S. Throughout the rest of the world, they're known as swedes. This ordinary root vegetable is thought to have originated in Bohemia in the 17th century as a hybri