wild parsnip

The parsnip is a biennial plant with a rosette of roughly hairy leaves that have a pungent odor when crushed. Parsnips are grown for their fleshy, edible, cream-colored taproots. The roots are generally smooth, although lateral roots sometimes form. Most are narrowly conical, but some cultivars have a more bulbous shape, which generally tends to be favored by food processors as it is more resistant to breakage. The plant's apical meristem produces a rosette of pinnate leaves, each with several pairs of leaflets with toothed margins. The lower leaves have short stems, the upper ones are stemless, and the terminal leaves have three lobes. The leaves are once- or twice-pinnate with broad, ovate, sometimes lobed leaflets with toothed margins; they grow up to 40 centimetres (16 inches) long. The petioles are grooved and have sheathed bases. The floral stem develops in the second year and can grow to more than 150 cm (60 in) tall. It is hairy, grooved, hollow (except at the nodes), and sparsely branched. It has a few stalkless, single-lobed leaves measuring 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in) long that are arranged in opposite pairs. The yellow flowers are in a loose, compound umbel measuring 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 in) in diameter. Six to 25 straight pedicels are present, each measuring 2 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in) that support the umbellets (secondary umbels). …

Parsnips resemble carrots and can be used in similar ways, but they have a sweeter taste, especially when cooked. They can be baked, boiled, pureed, roasted, fried, grilled, or steamed. When used in stews, soups, and casseroles, they give a rich flavour. In some cases, parsnips are boiled, and the solid portions are removed from the soup or stew, leaving behind a more subtle flavour than the whole root and starch to thicken the dish. Roast parsnip is considered an essential part of Christmas dinner in some parts of the English-speaking world and frequently features in the traditional Sunday roast. Parsnips can also be fried or thinly sliced and made into chips. They can be made into a wine with a taste similar to Madeira. The author Dorothy Hartley described parsnips as having "the type of sweetness that mingles with honey and spice..." The food writer Alan Davidson remarks, "parsnip has a taste which, although not strong, is peculiar and not to everyone's liking." In Roman times, parsnips were believed to be an aphrodisiac. However, parsnips do not typically feature in modern Italian cooking. Instead, they are fed to pigs, particularly those bred to make Parma ham.

Nutrition. A typical 100 g serving of parsnip provides 314 kilojoules (75 kilocalories) of food energy. Most parsnip cultivars consist of about 80% water, 5% sugar, 1% protein, 0.3% fat, and 5% dietary fiber. …

The wild parsnip from which the modern cultivated varieties were derived is a plant of dry, rough grassland and waste places, particularly on chalk and limestone soils. Parsnips are biennials, but are normally grown as annuals. Sandy and loamy soils are preferable to silt, clay, and stony ground; the latter produces short, forked roots. Parsnip seed significantly deteriorates in viability if stored for long. Seeds are usually planted in early spring, as soon as the ground can be worked to a fine tilth, in the position where the plants are to grow. The growing plants are thinned and kept weed-free. Harvesting begins in late fall after the first frost and continues through winter. The rows can be covered with straw to enable the crop to be lifted during frosty weather. Low soil temperatures cause some of the starches stored in the roots to be converted into sugars, giving them a sweeter taste.

The etymology of the generic name Pastinaca (Latin for parsnips and carrots) is not known with certainty but is probably derived from either the Latin word pastino, meaning 'to prepare the ground for planting of the vine' or pastus, meaning 'food'. The specific epithet sativa literally means 'sown' or 'planted', but is used in botanical nomenclature to mean 'cultivated'. While folk etymology sometimes assumes the name is a mix of parsley and turnip, it actually comes from Middle English pasnepe, alteration (influenced by nep, 'turnip') of Old French pasnaie (now panais) from Latin pastinum, a kind of fork. The word's ending was changed to -nip by analogy with turnip because it was mistakenly assumed to be a kind of turnip.