Vegetable: Kohlrabi

Recipes:
Kohlrabi Gratin
Kohlrabi and Yellow Pepper Salad
Stir Fried Kohlrabi

Type: Kohlrabi is an amalgamation of the German words 'kohl', meaning cabbage, and 'rabi', meaning turnip, which is a pretty accurate description of what you're getting. A member of the cabbage patch brassica family.

Vitamin and mineral content: A good source of vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, magnesium and copper, as well as dietary fibre.

Reputedly good for: Said to help stabalise blood sugar levels, and help prevent oedema (internal swelling), candida and viral conditions.

Availability: Can be grown from late summer to the following spring, but farmers tend to grow it during the leaner early spring months when there's less available generally.

Storage: Best kept in the fridge. It should last longer if you remove the leaves before storage, as they tend to draw moisture away from the bulb.

Preparation: If you get them small and sweet enough, they hardly need any preparation at all and can be eaten raw. Larger kohlrabi will benefit from being peeled, and cooked like a turnip - they have a mild, slightly sweet flavour and a satisfying crunch if not overcooked.

Origins: References to a 'Corinthian turnip' appears in the writings of the Roman philosopher and naturalist Pliny the Elder, and this may well be a kohlrabi. It seems to have ended up being cultivated by the Romans around the city of what is now Aachen in western Germany, hence the name, although it has become more of a dietary staple in India, China and across Africa than in Europe.