Parsnips

Parsnips

Latin name: Pastinaca sativa

Parsnips are a cousin of carrots, a long white root with a uniquely sweet flavor that develops its sugars in colder temperatures. Parsnips are sweet roots second only to the sugar beet, and were used in baking a few centuries back. Parsnips can be roasted with other root veg, blended into creamy soups and purees, and used in place of potatoes.

While parsnips and parsley root look quite similar, they are two very different roots. You can tell a parsnip by its smooth skin and what I think of as having an innie belly button stem, while parsley root has more wrinkled skin, a much more herbal flavor, and an outie belly button stem. Read more about parsley root here.

Parsnips from CAMPO Colectivo

"Innie" Parsnip tops from Gathering Together Farm

Parsley Root from Stoneboat Farm

Digging Deeper

• The parsnip, rooted in history, by Barbara Damrosch | Washington Post

• A History of Parsnips

RECIPES