Brassica napus var. napobrassica.

A genuine Québec heirloom variety — a Canadian selection developed in the first half of the 20th century specifically for the growing conditions of Eastern Canada, and which owes its name to the Laurentian mountains that line the Québec territory north of the Saint Lawrence. Laurentian became for decades THE standard commercial rutabaga variety in Québec and Ontario, and rightly so: robustness, productivity, exceptional storage life, and particularly mild, sweet flavour.

Before going further, an important botanical clarification: the rutabaga is NOT a turnip. The ordinary turnip belongs to the Brassica rapa species, while the rutabaga is a Brassica napus var. napobrassica — the same species as Red Russian kale. The rutabaga itself is the result of a natural cross that occurred in Europe around the 17th century between cabbage (B. oleracea) and turnip (B. rapa), giving birth to a new hybrid species with a fleshy root: B. napus. The first scientific description comes from the Swiss botanist Caspar Bauhin in 1620, who described it as cultivated in Bohemia. The English name swede ("Swedish") recalls its early adoption in the Scandinavian countries; the Scots call it neeps and serve it traditionally with haggis on Burns Night in homage to the poet Robert Burns.

An upright-foliage plant of a beautiful blue-green (the leaves resemble those of cabbage more than turnip, reflecting the oleracea heredity), forming a globular fleshy root 8 to 12 cm across, 1 to 2 kg at full maturity. The rutabaga's visual signature: a two-tone root, deep purple-violet on the upper half (the part that emerges from the soil and is exposed to the sun) and uniform cream-yellow on the lower half (buried and protected). Flesh of a beautiful yellow-orange, firm, dense, with a particularly mild, sweet flavour — far more complex and deep than that of the ordinary white turnip — with a lightly nutty, earthy note that recalls sweet potato.

A pillar of traditional Québec cooking: purée de rutabaga (with butter and nutmeg, sometimes mixed half-and-half with potato), cipaille du Lac-Saint-Jean (in cubes in the great traditional oven pot), winter soupe paysanne aux légumes-racines, oven-roasted in quarters with maple syrup and thyme, as garnish in traditional Québec salted-beef bouilli. Scottish-style in haggis with neeps and tatties. Also excellent raw, grated in salad with carrot, apple and citrus vinaigrette.

Grower's tip: Rutabaga is a cool-season plant par excellence — it demands a long growing period but at moderate temperatures. Classic Québec strategy: direct-sow in early June, as soon as the soil is well warmed but before the great heat (ideally, rutabaga begins its life under temperatures of 15-20 °C). Thin to 20 cm in the row after thinning. Harvest after the first fall frosts — exactly like Hamburg tuberous parsley and parsnip; the first October frosts convert starches into sugars and considerably soften the flavour. A rutabaga harvested in early October is good; harvested in late October it's delicious; harvested after several frost nights it's sublime. Like all cabbages, susceptible to the cabbage worm and cabbage fly: insect netting useful from sowing on.

EXCEPTIONAL storage: 4 to 6 months in a humid cold room (0-2 °C, 90-95 % humidity).

Québec tradition: coat each rutabaga with a thin layer of beeswax to further extend storage to 6-8 months without drying out.

• Open-pollinated. Canadian heirloom variety (20th century). Biennial, flowering in the second year. Insect-pollinated, so crosses with other Brassica napus (Red Russian Kale, canola), but NOT with white turnips (B. rapa) nor with cabbages (B. oleracea).
• Height: 30 to 40 cm for the foliage. Root: 8 to 12 cm across, partially exposed at the soil.
• Maturity: 90 to 100 days after sowing.
• Exposure: full sun; part shade tolerated in summer.
• Loose, deep, well-drained, neutral soil. Thin to 20 cm in the row.
• Direct-sow early June in Québec. Harvest after the first fall frosts for optimal flavour. Storage 4 to 6 months in a cold humid cellar.