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Parsnip
Pastinaca sativa · Root vegetable
40 pairings
The parsnip is the cream-coloured, edible taproot of Pastinaca sativa, a cool-season biennial in the carrot family (Apiaceae). Firmer and starchier than its cousin the carrot, it has a sweet, nutty, earthy flavour that deepens and caramelises when roasted — a cornerstone winter root eaten roasted, mashed, fried into crisps, and simmered into soups and stews.
Picking a good onedrag
Rigid, frost-sweet, just liftedBending, sprouting, turning bitter
Shop firmThe all-rounder: roast, mash, soup, crisps.Everyday best
CrownCrown dry, rim browning a little
In the handFirm, only the thin tail flexes
SkinBuff and matte, shallow scuffs only
Smell at the crownEarthy, mildly sweet, clean
What to look for, from rigid, frost-sweet, just lifted to bending, sprouting, turning bitter.
What one gives you
85%
Usable yield
128 g · parings off
150 g
Typical weight
one specimen
Keeping ittap a band
A domestic fridge holds it about 15× longer than the counter.
Humidity
98%
Bag it, or bed it in damp sand; bare in a dry fridge a parsnip wrinkles and starts to bend at the thin end inside a fortnight.
Airflow
Still air, not sealed
A perforated bag or a loosely lidded box; sealed tight, condensation gathers and the shoulders go soft and grey with mould.
Bitter, not soft, beside apples
Even faint ethylene in cold store turns it bitter rather than soft, so keep it well clear of apples, pears and bananas.