On Tuesday, Gov. Peter Shumlin signed into law a bill proclaiming the Gilfeather Turnip the Vermont state vegetable. The town of Wardsboro, the mysterious turnip's ancestral home, couldn't be more pleased.
The Gilfeather is a knobby lump of a root vegetable that acts more like a rutabaga than a turnip. But that’s no bother to people in Wardsboro, where local pride in the turnip fueled a successful campaign to have it named the state vegetable. Anita Rafael, a Gilfeather turnip enthusiast who’s been an active volunteer in the effort to get the turnip recognized, explains the turnip’s historical “roots” in Wardsboro.
What is a Gilfeather Turnip?
"It’s half-rutabaga, half-turnip hybrid that was developed by John Gilfeather, hence the name. The earliest reference we have in print to it is about 1902 here in Wardsboro. It's white instead of yellow and it doesn't have that little back-of-the-throat bite that normal turnips have — they're sweet and creamy."
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