They are different plants. A rutabaga is larger, with yellow-orange flesh and a denser, sweeter taste — it is called a swede in Britain. A turnip is smaller, with white flesh and usually purple-tinged shoulders, and tastes sharper. Confusingly, some parts of Britain call the rutabaga a turnip.
The core difference
Two related brassicas, routinely mixed up by naming as much as by appearance.
- rutabaga / swede — larger, yellow flesh, sweeter and denser. A cross between turnip and cabbage.
- turnip — smaller, white flesh, purple shoulders, sharper flavour.
The naming mess
Rutabaga is the American word, from Swedish dialect rotabagge, root bag. British English says swede, short for Swedish turnip. But in Scotland and parts of northern England the swede is called a turnip or neep — so "neeps and tatties" with haggis is swede, not turnip. A recipe's origin matters more than its wording.
Telling them apart
Cut them. Yellow flesh means rutabaga or swede; white flesh means turnip.
