Yeller Turnips
In Appalachian and Southern kitchens, "yeller turnips" is the down-home name for rutabagas - a hearty root vegetable, yellow inside, often boiled or mashed with butter.
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Hillbilly Dude Says...
We didn't do ’ yeller turnips' growin' up. We were more of a fried taters kinda crew. Hillbilly Dude Says...
We didn't do ’ yeller turnips' growin' up. We were more of a fried taters kinda crew. Pronunciation
[YELL-er TUR-nips]
Meaning & Usage
- Rutabaga (noun)
Mae:
Pass me them yeller turnips, they taste just like Grandma’s.
Pass me them yeller turnips, they taste just like Grandma’s.
Earl:
Ain’t nothin’ better with cornbread.
Ain’t nothin’ better with cornbread.variations: rutabagas, yellow turnips, Swedes (British English), Swedish turnips, yeller roots, winter turnips
★ If you hear "yeller turnips" in the hills, folks mean rutabagas. They’re sweeter and denser than white turnips, and often cooked as a winter side dish. ★
Origin and Etymology
"Yeller turnips" comes from their golden-yellow flesh. The vegetable itself is rutabaga, a cabbage-turnip hybrid that came to Appalachia and the South from Europe in the 19th century. Locals gave it the plain name "yeller turnip."
Usage Notes
Common in older Appalachian and Southern cooking, though less popular today. Still shows up in gardens, farm stands, and family recipes - often mashed or stewed.
Say It Like a Southerner
Said plain: "yell-er." The "o" in yellow drops out, leaving two quick beats.