January Parsnips

wally mcgee · January 18, 2015

Last year I sowed a row of parsnips on the outside edge of my hoop house before I planted my melons, cucumber etc. and forgot them. I went out yesterday and dug one up and cleaned and sliced it up and put it in the fridge.

Today I fried it up in butter with a little Lea & Perrin until they were nice and brown. Oh boy! They were fantastic and pleasantly sweet, very unlike others pulled in the fall I have tried.

I had read that parsnips and carrots get much better tasting after cold weather turning their starch to sugar but had never tried it. If you haven't, I recommend giving it a try.

I'm going to give carrots a try next year.

JamesL · January 21, 2015

My neighbor pulled some carrots for me right before Christmas. They were pretty darn good.

Worth1 · January 21, 2015

Almost all of your root crops taste better this way.
Worth

Tomato Beth · January 21, 2015

Congrats! I planted some parsnips with some carrots a couple summers back. Last spring, we were digging up the beds to plant peas, and I discovered that all those parsnips that I thought had died had instead grown huge and were still tasty. We dug them up and put them in stews and used them like we would carrots.

Jeannine Anne · March 20, 2016

Same as Brussel sprouts they need a frost to sweeten them

January 18, 2015	#1
wally mcgee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: peru, Iowa zone 5a Posts: 167	January Parsnips Last year I sowed a row of parsnips on the outside edge of my hoop house before I planted my melons, cucumber etc. and forgot them. I went out yesterday and dug one up and cleaned and sliced it up and put it in the fridge. Today I fried it up in butter with a little Lea & Perrin until they were nice and brown. Oh boy! They were fantastic and pleasantly sweet, very unlike others pulled in the fall I have tried. I had read that parsnips and carrots get much better tasting after cold weather turning their starch to sugar but had never tried it. If you haven't, I recommend giving it a try. I'm going to give carrots a try next year. __________________ Rob

January 21, 2015	#4
Tomato Beth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: PA 6b Posts: 277	Congrats! I planted some parsnips with some carrots a couple summers back. Last spring, we were digging up the beds to plant peas, and I discovered that all those parsnips that I thought had died had instead grown huge and were still tasty. We dug them up and put them in stews and used them like we would carrots. __________________ I'm a geek and a mom, and I write about it at Confessions of a Geeky Mom: http://confessionsofageekymom.com/

January 21, 2015	#2
JamesL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,992	My neighbor pulled some carrots for me right before Christmas. They were pretty darn good.

January 21, 2015	#3
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Almost all of your root crops taste better this way. Worth

March 20, 2016	#5
Jeannine Anne Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 1,553	Same as Brussel sprouts they need a frost to sweeten them