Parsnips

Pastinaca sativa


Parsnips are a root vegetable related to carrots. They are very nutritious and have a sweet, buttery, slightly spicy, flavor when cooked. Parsnips are native to Eurasia, like their carrot cousins, and have been eaten there since ancient times.

Although they can be eaten raw, they are primarily cooked by boiling, baking, roasting, or used in stews, soups and casseroles. Roasted parsnip are an essential part of the Christmas dinner menu in some parts of the English-speaking world. Although a less healthy options, parsnips can thinly sliced and deep fried into chips. In some parts of Britain, they are even fermented into a type of wine commonly referred to as "Tanglefoot."

Parsnips thrive in soils that are rich, light, and deeply worked. Sow seeds early in the spring, ½-inch deep, two to three seeds to the inch, in rows spaced twenty four inches apart. Thin out plants to stand six to eight inches apart in the row. The flavor of parsnips is greatly improved by freezing as this helps convert the starches to sugar

Seed count varies by variety, but each gram is typically about 150 seeds.

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