Rutabaga
Macomber

Mild, white, thin-skinned roots grow large and are even sweet enough to eat raw!

About Macomber

Is it a turnip, or is it a rutabaga? Or is it a hybrid of both? Local lore in Westport, Massachusetts, holds that in 1876 brothers Adin and Elihu Macomber brought seeds home from the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition and planted them near radishes in their garden. The brothers thought they were turnip seeds (Brassica rapa) but they were really rutabaga (Brassica napus var. napobrassica), which is a cross between the turnip and cabbage (Brassica oleracea). Historians for the D. Landreth Seed Co., which had a huge presence at the Philadelphia exposition, think the Macomber brothers actually acquired the seeds of Sweet German rutabaga at the company’s booth. The variety thrived in the coastal Massachusetts climate. Whatever you call it, Macomber Turnip rutabaga is wildly popular around Westport – and rightfully so – the mild, white, thin-skinned roots grow large and are even sweet enough to eat raw!