Nutritional value

High in fibre, vitamins C, potassium and foliate.

Storage

In the fridge salad drawer lasts up to three weeks, in a perforated bag.

Season

October to February.

Choose

Dry and firm parsnips, avoiding those that are shrivelled. Larger specimens more likely to have a woody core, but necessarily.

Uses

Roast, soup, stews, boiled, mashed, crisps, chips, grated in salad raw.

Recipe

Soon

Blanch, then freeze

Pastinaca sativa

A sweet tasting, somewhat fragrant, root vegetable, now used in savoury dishes, was popular in medieval puddings. An important food source over winter before the arrival of the potato and, before sugar was easily available, used to sweeten cakes and jams.

A member of the Umbelliferae family, along with carrots, parsley, chervil, fennel and celeriac, they can be found growing in the wild across Asia and Europe. Been in cultivation for over 2000 years.