During my research for the current Recipe of the Week, I came across a little article on www.southcoasttoday.com about Bob Russell, the force behind the recent resurgence of the Macomber turnip. (Unfortunately, the link to the article appears to be ”broken”.) After reading about  Bob’s one-man ”crusade” to save this vegetable, I decided to track him down and hear the story for myself.  I interviewed him by phone last week.

Bob and his wife are from New Jersey where they witnessed, in horror, the loss of farmland to real estate development after World War II. They eventually wound up in Massachusetts where they bought Westport Rivers Winery and devoted themselves to slowing the loss of farmland in their adopted state.

The Macomber turnip was a natural object for their attention. It was bred in Westport, MA in the mid- to late 1800s, and its lineage is celebrated in an historical marker on Westport’s Main Road. (It is one of the only vegetables to receive this kind of honor.) Legends surround its birth. According to one, it resulted from cross-pollination among common turnips, rutabagas, and radishes. Another traces it to special seeds obtained by Adin and Elihu Macomber at a Pennsylvania fair in 1876.  Whatever its origin, the Macomber turnip has become a Westport institution. For many years,  the town held an annual Macomber Dinner where the turnip was a required ingredient in every dish. 

So how does this humble root fit into Bob Russell’s plan to save Westport’s farms? Have you ever heard of Castroville, CA– the artichoke capital of the world? Well, if Bob has his way, you’ll soon hear of Westport, MA– the Macomber capital of the world. The turnip’s unusual growing season makes it ideal for cultivation in the Northeast, and virtually impossible to grow elsewhere. (It’s planted in August and requires a frost to turn sweet.) The unique suitability of the Macomber to the region has inspired Bob and fellow farm preservationists to try to trademark the turnip along the lines of the Vidalia onion and the Idaho potato. In response to a question regarding ownership of  the trademark, he listed a few possibilities that had been rejected– including the state of Massachusetts. When I asked whether the town of  Westport was a contender, he said he hadn’t considered that option, but liked the idea. Since it already has the monument, why not the trademark too?!

If Bob and his comrades succeed with their trademark application, they’ll be able to mount a marketing campaign that could make Macomber cultivation profitable and help Westport farmers survive. All they have to do is build enough awareness to get people to buy it. Once they taste it , they’ll LOVE it!! Sweet and creamy, it beats purple tops any day.

In the photo above, the Macombers are the jumbos. Whenever I hold one in my hands, I think to myself: This must be how a squirrel feels when he finds a big fat juicy acorn. Go, Bob!

 

Breaking News:

Over the weekend new recipes appeared  in the Collaborative (Georgie Fear’s Whole Grain Barley Bread) and the Spa (New Year’s Eve Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Cream). They’re both on the waiting list for Recipe of the Week, but you may want a sneak preview…