I've often wondered who ate the lonely turnip raw like I do.After all rarely do I run into anyone who knows what a turnip is, least alone the young checker at my local grocery store. " No, its not a beet, it's a turnip" I tell her as she looks up the number to punch in off her vegetable chart. Do these young people even know what a vegetables are I wonder ? Do they even  cook? I don't recall the first time I ate a raw turnip. I do remember my grandmother cooking them in a pot with bacon drippings and I loved them. Once my ex husband told me a story about him going AWOL in Germany and hitching a ride on a turnip truck and eating them raw...perhaps that's where I got the idea to try them that way.....so I guess the old saying has merit,"... fall off the turnip truck"....
Sometimes I get a hankering for a raw vegetable bite of some kind, usually late at nite. Its like my body is screaming " put some real healthy food that makes that crisp veggie sound !". I've tried carrots, (they always seem to taste moldy to me) , celery (those strings can really get stuck in between your teeth) plus have no flavor, and radishes (my second favorite raw veggie). But you can't beat a good turnip in my opinion. There they are, perfectly sized for your hand to clasp, not as spicy as a large radish but still retains that slight taste of a radish. Peeled or not peeled, easy to clean and definately has a satisfying crunch. What more could you ask for?