Pre-Christian Irish Carved Turnip (Samhain 2021)
This weekend is the pre-Christian Irish holiday of Samhain - celebrated more widely as Halloween! Due to my current circumstances, instead of a recipe this week, I'll be doing this instead! Pumpkins weren't present in Ireland until well after the Columbian Exchange, but turnips are an indigenous vegetable here - and were carved for millennia.
In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! If you like what I do, consider checking out my Patreon!
Method
1 - Cut top off turnip
To begin making a carved turnip, you of course need a turnip! Try and get a large turnip, as it'll be more sturdy once carved. Cut the top off the root bulb - alternatively you can cut the base off the turnip, using the leaf bundle at the top as a handle!
Either way, be very careful when cutting into this. Turnips are notoriously difficult to cut easily. Plus, if you're careless - like I was earlier - the turnip will win against you.
2 - Core turnip
When the top of your turnip has been taken off, start scoring the inside of your turnip with a knife. Leave about a finger's width of a wall of the turnip. This will make it easier to carve a face out of later, and will also give the whole thing a bit of structure when it's done.
You may find it easier to use a metal spoon when scraping the inside of your carved turnip - use whatever is easiest for you! But try and not scrape more than your spoon can handle, as it can and will bend to the will of the turnip.
3 - Carve Face
When your turnip is suitably hollow, you can now get to grips with gouging out it's eyes and mouth. Traditionally, turnips were carved in the image of scowling faces - in an attempt to dissuade evil spirits present at Samhain. But of course, you can carve whatever you want these days! Try and carve some teeth if you want!
When the whole thing has been carved to your liking, place a lit candle inside it, and set it out somewhere for you to enjoy!
Carving vegetables or fruit is found worldwide, throughout various cultures and time periods. While the art of carving turnips for Halloween has fallen out of style due to the ease and hardiness of the pumpkin, turnips are still used around Samhain in rural areas of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales!
The term Jack-o-Lantern is an 18th century name for these decorations, and we are unsure of what they were referred to in antiquity - in Irish it was likely called a carved turnip. A simple name, but it does the job well enough!
