A parsnip sits in the ground waiting for the first frosts which are meant to make it taste sweeter but often forgotten and only discovered as you clear your ground for planting next season, neglected, it may have become a monster now hard to pull out of the ground and have developed rust or canker. Leave one plant in the ground and collect seed from it.
‘Parsnips were grown to fatten pigs and keep them healthy over the winter. St. Anthony is the patron saint of pigs and guardian of the parsnip root and as he is also protects against pests and bubonic plague – people believed that eating parsnips would help them avoid these.’
Buttery roast parsnips with honey or parsnip soup using just boiled parsnips, sautéd onions with vegetable stock, pepper and small sprinkle of salt is very nice. As well as being the sweeter nuttier flavored version of potatoes and having lots of fiber, parsnips are good for you – your mood, your heart, your insides.
They are a herb and belong to the parsley and carrot family. Some people use the high sugar content to make wine.
If you sow them this spring, as they take their time to germinate, sow a few seeds together with radishes in between so you can see where the row is until the parsnips throw a few leaves above the ground and leave plenty of space between the rows as parsnips have big leaves. Once they get going – they become huge.
Somewhere read that whatever you need for your health – you will find growing near you
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