Where in Seattle can I buy a rutabaga / Halloween turnip?

October 29, 2020 3:40 PM

I want to carve a pair of Halloween rutabaga lanterns. I did not find any rutabagas today at PCC. What stores in Seattle have a large selection of vegetables where I could find one?
posted by cnidaria to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

Best answer: You could try one of the big produce stands like Rising Sun in Ravenna or MacPherson's in Beacon Hill.
posted by Pangloss at 3:53 PM on October 29, 2020

Best answer: Whole Foods and Metropolitan Market usually carry rutabagas.
posted by obol at 6:15 PM on October 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

Sorry not to actually answer your question, but to anyone thinking of doing this please be warned that carving out a rutabaga is nothing like as easy as carving a pumpkin. We used rutabaga lanterns where I grew up, and they are HARD to carve out, really too hard for kids to do.
posted by anadem at 6:30 PM on October 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

Seconding what anadem said. The flesh of these things is pretty hard and needs a sharp knife and considerable force to carve - we had them as kids too, and they took ages to carve and usually resulted in at least one gashed finger. Also, unlike a pumpkin they are solid all the way through.
posted by Fuchsoid at 6:38 PM on October 29, 2020

Best answer: If you can find a non-commercial (farm stand? ) rutabaga that's not waxed, they're less hard and more delicious.
posted by sepviva at 6:55 PM on October 29, 2020

Best answer: I do regularly see them at the Metropolitan Market, at least mine in West Seattle. You might also try Uwajimaya if you’re nearby, since they have a pretty expansive selection too.
posted by Mizu at 8:13 PM on October 29, 2020

Best answer: Macpherson's in Beacon Hill usually has harder-to-find produce. Or go to a farmers' market this weekend - there are some on both Saturday and Sunday.
posted by centrifugal at 9:15 PM on October 29, 2020

Response by poster: I have a drill motor with multiple sizes of paddle bits. I am fully prepared for rutabaga carving :-)
posted by cnidaria at 11:10 PM on October 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: And I don't have any children, so that's not really a concern. Thanks for all the grocery suggestions!
posted by cnidaria at 11:11 PM on October 29, 2020

Best answer: Then all you need be warned about is the smell of candlelit turnip. These are my traditional lantern but I can only imagine the look on Irish people’s faces when they first encountered pumpkins.
posted by J.R. Hartley at 6:45 AM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

In a grocery store you're likely to only find ones the size of a regular turnip or potato. But farm stands might have much larger ones.
posted by rikschell at 10:16 AM on October 30, 2020