Parsnips are high in health-boosting vitamin C. In recent years, parsnips have become more popular for their bold flavor, natural sweetness, and unique versatility in the kitchen. Before cane sugar and beet sugar, parsnip was also used as a natural sweetener to flavor cakes and other baked items.Įuropean explorers brought parsnips with them and introduced the root vegetable to new colonies, especially in North America, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. Historically, the edible root was used for occasional food purposes, especially during the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans about 2,000 years ago. Pastinaca sativa is a native species found all throughout Europe and Central Asia. Parsnips are a cultivated subspecies of Pastinaca sativa, or wild parsnip. These vegetables can vary in color from white to cream to pale yellow, with more noticeable sweetness when harvested after the first frost. Parsnip has very potentdiuretic and antioxidant properties and it comes very handy when it comes toboosting the immune system.Parsnips might look like pale carrots, but they're a nutrient-packed root vegetable with a touch of spice, nuttiness, and sweetness. It is also very efficient in improving the bowel movementsand treating anemia, kidney diseases and obesity. Parsnip is very good for the maintenance of proper kidneyand liver health. A serving of 100 grams of cooked parsnipscontains 70 calories, 1.7 micrograms of selenium, 17 grams of carbohydrates,0.3 micrograms of zinc, 5 grams of sugar, 0.6 milligrams of iron, 4 grams ofdietary fiber, 246 milligrams of sodium, 1 gram of protein, 29 milligrams of magnesium, 13 milligrams ofvitamin C, 69 milligrams of phosphorus, 1 milligram of vitamin E, 37 milligramsof calcium, 0.1 milligrams of vitamin B1, 367 milligrams of potassium, 0.1milligrams of vitamin B2, 58 micrograms of folate, 0.7 milligrams of vitamin B3and 0.1 milligrams of vitamin B6. Parsnips contain significantly low amounts ofcalories, saturated fats, cholesterol and sodium. Parsnips are jam packed with different types of vitamins andessential minerals such as potassium, vitamin K, manganese, vitamin C, folate, vitaminB complex, zinc and calcium. Parsnips can be roasted,boiled and steamed and they are an integral part of numerous different types ofstew and soup recipes. Parsnips blends wonderfully with certain types of ingredients such as cinnamon,tarragon, nutmeg, thyme, basil, parsley and dill weed. Parsnips are popular because of their delicate,sweet flavor which has a mild intensity and it blends so well with numerousother ingredients and enhances the overall flavor of many different dishes. They can be eatenraw or they can be cooked. Parsnips can bedescribed as carrots with a pale color of yellow or white. The wild variety of parsnips is much smaller in size than itscultivated counterpart and its taste is not that sweet.
Parsnips have been used since the times ofthe ancient Rome. Some other members of the family include carrot, caraway,coriander, fennel, dill and celery. The family is verybig as it includes approximately 3000 different species and more than 300 differenttypes of genera. It comes from the family of Apiaceae which is alsosometimes referred to by its obsolete name of Umbelliferae. Parsnip is a root vegetable,just like the carrot. Parsnips are closely related to carrots but they stand outas a healthier option with much more nutrients.