Parsnip? How do you cook that thang?

The play left a taste of lukewarm parsnip juice. Alexander Woollcott

Parsnip, the pale, yet powerful cousin of the carrot has long flown below the radar, but this was not always so. Prior to the introduction of the potato from the New World, the parsnip was one of the most popular vegetables in Europe. It was especially popular during religious fasting, when meats were eschewed, because it was hearty, heavy and filling and had a strong character of its own. This pungent character ultimately caused its decline in popularity; the white potato, with its neutral palate was able to take on the flavors of whatever it was combined with and superseded the regal parsnip in the 18th century. The parsnip does not grow best in warm climates; it needs frosts to really develop its characteristic flavor. It likely first developed in northern Eurasia; its wild descendants range from the across the Bering Strait into the northwestern U.S. to far into Europe, where its seeds have been found in Neolithic lake settlements of Switzerland and England. It is also quite nutritious, being high in fiber and low in calories, and contains more vitamins and minerals than the carrot, especially potassium.

Fine words butter no parsnips. Sir Walter Scott