Just a little snip it about Parsnips

Parsnips

Why on earth is he making a post about Parsnips, you may be asking yourself. Well about a month ago I had some mashed Parsnips with a chicken dinner at our local restaurant. They were a pretty nice replacement for the same ole tired mashed potatoes. I also participated in the Milk and taters challenge last week and had fun doing so. I did some different style post than I normally do, not that I have a normal type post, I just post things, so today it is all about that long ago well forgotten Parsnip.

Several web sites do state that the Romans cultivated the Parsnips, they do not say what era of the Romans, they were around for a fairly long time, The Empire of Rome was about 27BCE to 493CE, As to when the cultivation of the Parsnip began, I could not find a date other than the Romans cultivated it.

For me the Parsnip is a brand new vegetable. I do not remember eating it as a kid or as an adult until only very recently. It seems to be a pretty versatile vegetable, like a potato a lot of ways to cook and serve it. Any method of potato cooking seems to work with parsnips.

My afternoon snack. I did not want to use a stock photo, I took that picture just before slicing it up and making small pieces to boil then mash for my early evening snack. A stock photo would have looked much nicer I am sure, but that is the only picture of that parsnip. No one else can take a picture of it, it is gone, it was good.

I was wondering if it was okay to eat as it had gone a little bit limpy in the refrigerator, but not to worry the web has spoken, as long as it is still firm and does not have soft spots it is perfectly safe to eat. One of the sites I looked at said that when buying them they should be firm, even the pointy end, and when I bought it two days ago it was. I now know how I should store it in the refrigerator and will try to do it as recommended to see if it makes a difference. Okay a couple of place I found some info about the parsnips.

Storage:

This information is from Spruce Eats Web Site For the full and exact text visit there Below is my paraphrasing the information not an exact copy of the information:

• The method I will try is wrap in a paper towel and then place in a plastic bag, and put in the veggie crisper of the refrigerator. We do not have a garage, basement or root cellar. Those are a couple of other storage options. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Ten months if you use the garage,root cellar method,

• If you plan on growing your own, read the warning on Spruce Eats web page about some adverse reaction from handling the plants.

Nutrition Information

From: Health Line web site

1 Cup:

• Calories: 100
• Carbs: 24 grams
• Fiber: 6.5 grams
• Protein: 1.5 grams

Also lots of other good stuff like Vitamins C, K, E B6, and several minerals.

In addition to being highly nutritious, parsnips also supply many antioxidants.

Increasing your intake of antioxidants may also protect against chronic conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease

Fiber:
One cup (133 grams) contains 6.5 grams of this nutrient — or 26% of your daily fiber needs.

Fiber moves through your gastrointestinal tract undigested, helping to get things moving and optimizing digestive health.

Delicious and Easy to Add to Your Diet:

Parsnips have a sweet taste similar to carrots, but with a nutty, earthy undertone.

They can be mashed, roasted, sautéed, boiled, baked, grilled, or fried and add a rich flavor to many dishes, working especially well in soups, stews, casseroles, gratins, and purees.

They can also be easily swapped in for nearly any other root vegetable in your favorite recipes, including carrots, potatoes, turnips, and rutabagas.

The above contains paraphrased and copied text, visit their page for the full information, there is a lot more there than I put here.

So far I have tried them mashed, very good, and in a soup. I keep wanting something crunchy to eat every now and then so one day I hope to try making some parsnip chips, all the web sites say they taste pretty good. Like any food to much of any one thing can be detrimental to a healthy life, so it is nice I have found something to share the place of the potato in meals.