From a staple food, to 'too old fashioned for the allotment' back to hip and trendy again: parsnip are making an astonishing comeback.
Their shape is similar to turnips or white carrot, but the taste is more like celery or potato. Yes, we are talking about parsnips. The root vegetable is booming in Switzerland, which is demonstrated by the growth figures. The Swiss farmers harvested about 850 metric tons in 2014, while some ten years earlier the yield was only 12 metric tons.
Potatoes pushed parsnips from the plates
While the parsnip is back, it still seldomly end on our plates. And that used to be a different story, until the 18th century this root vegetable, already cultivated by the Romans, was a staple food. After this period the parsnip was replaced by the faster growing and more profitable potato.
The parsnip is related to fennel and celery. It is an undemanding and robust plant that is sown in spring and harvested after the first frost. The pale yellow roots are 20 to 30 cm long with a diameter of 5 to 8 cm and can reach a weight of 300 grams.
Parsnips are, just like potatoes, rich in starch and therefore very nutritious. A share of the carbohydrates exists of pectins, which support a healthy digestion. And parsnips contain a high proportion of essential oils that give the vegetables the characteristic, spicy aromatic flavor. Furthermore parsnips contain minerals such as potassium, phosphorus, calcium and magnesium, and compared to carrots their content of vitamin C is slightly higher.
Parsnips are very versatile in the kitchen. They can be the main ingredient of tasty soups, gratins and stews. And used as a vegetable side dish, fried like potatoes, or even raw, parsnips can do it all. Furthermore, parsnip tops can be used just like parsley to flavor a dish. And finally, the food industry processes parsnips to use in baby food and instant soups.