Skirret
Sium sisarum · Root vegetable
Top 10 pairings
Skirret is the sweet, starchy cluster of slender roots of Sium sisarum, a hardy perennial in the carrot family (Apiaceae). Once a staple winter root across medieval and early-modern Europe — prized as the sweetest of all garden roots — it was eclipsed by the potato and survives today mainly as an heirloom and forager's vegetable.
Picking a good onedrag
Winter-dug, hard, snapping whiteLimp, wrinkled, going soft
Market freshEveryday bestBoil, roast, fry or mash it, or grate a young root raw. A woody core runs through some plants and not others; where a root has one, it lifts out easily after boiling.
SkinDuller, a few scuffs, still smooth over the flesh
The snapSnaps under pressure, break face still damp
Smell at the scrubbed skinFaintly sweet, mostly plain soil