Parsnip

By: Amelia Attwood, RD, LD

Every fall comfort foods are shared amongst family and friends. Recipes prepared are often repeated annually at holidays as an honorable member of the family tree. While holiday dishes are delighted recipes by many, consider making parsnips as a warm side dish to accompany your leftovers.

In Europe during the Middle Age, parsnips were previously used as a sweetener due to the high cost of sugar.  Parsnips that we consume today are commonly consumed with savory foods for sweet and savory combinations. The high quality of fiber, antioxidants from vitamin C and E, folate, and manganese within these root vegetables brings great variety to any meal. Folate in the form of folic acid is a vitamin commonly fortified into our foods for health maintenance benefits. Manganese is a mineral responsible for energy production and immune support.

The producers of the parsnips featured at school this month are known as Driftless Organics located in Soldier Grove, Wisconsin. They are a 100-acre farm in the ridge and valley fields of Southwest Wisconsin. They sell fruits, vegetables, and sunflower oil across the Midwest through farmer’s markets and grocers. Their produce for sale originally started out as a summer project in early adolescence, at just ages nine and eleven. At that time in 1993, farmer’s Noah and Josh experimented with growing 20 varieties of potatoes and their business operations only grew from there.

Parsnips are a root vegetable, similar to carrots, turnips, and beets. They may be stored, prepared, and eaten just like you would a carrot. However, parsnips have a nutty, peppery taste when eaten raw. The paler the parsnip the sweeter the taste when roasted. The best way to enjoy the sweet and savory side of a parsnip is to roast or boil them. Roasting and boiling allows time in the cooking process to tenderize the root vegetable. When utilizing either cooking method it is recommended to cook until fork tender. In school this month students enjoyed taste testing roasted parsnips. Combine roasted root vegetables at home for a great savory soup. If you are needing more simple produce recipes, checkout our Simply Seasonal database of five ingredients or less and five steps or less recipes.