It's fall and we have had several frosts now. Naturally I have been working hard getting all the veggie places ready for the winter; however, due to the fact that some veg is still in the ground, I have had to postpone putting the fork in here and there. I like to wait until there have been a few frosts before pulling-up my parsnips. I have the idea that it gives them a better taste (being a bit frozen, I mean). I wanted to see if it was time to harvest or not. Yesterday I lifted a "test root" to see how the 'snips were coming along. My bride eased the fork into the soft soil alongside the broad back of the parsnip and I kept an upward tension on the foliage. After a few wiggles it slid right out--sort of like delivering a baby.....it was time! I had a huge grin and chattered aloud like a gold-panner finding that elusive "king nugget" at last. After a short discussion we decided to lift anoither...and then another...and then.... Well, finally --after we had lifted seven or so, we sort of decided that we'd just lift the lot. There were some too badly forked, and my partner said, "Ach, I'll just cut off the side branch and handle it as a separate one". There were some smallish ones and she said, "Ach, those are the size that one buys in the market--that's the size they are really supposed to be". You have to admire her positive attitude. The thing that really pulled me over though was the fact that I saw that the very distal-most tips of a couple of the longer ones had some sticky, gray clay on them. Past experience has shown that if I let the 'snips stay with their 'feet' in the water layer, rot will set-in and eventually the whole parsnip will be ruined. The soil in the new garden is very un-deep and I have been working to build-up that topsoil. I add compost and vegital elements every year, increasing the top layer as much as I can. The average length of the 'snips was 14 inches, so as you can see--that isn't deep at all. I was really pleased with the haul and I called-out that I wanted some camera time. Here is the armload of 16 lovely pastinaken. That's our word for them...you know, like Boris Pastinak. They were fresh out of the soil and looking their garden-best. It is a sight that only a gardner could love. ...There's 'garden-best', and then there's 'kitchen-best'...that is to say, cleaned. My garden neighbour, Willem was working across the way and saw what we were doing and of course had to see and ask questions. I offered him one...he was a bit hesitant, but when I told him that they tasted a bit like carrots, he took "one to try". I could not believe it, but Willem had never eaten or grown pastinaak...and he's one of the "old hands" on the complex. At any rate he felt moved to offer me some of his carrots and went and pulled a few. The trade wasn't fair, but it made us both happy. Bedankt, Wullum! ...and here they are--all laid out on the hedge drying. Don't those guys look good! Well, I can tell you that there was feasting in the House of Sjoerd last night: We had Hutspot made with the fresh carrots and big meatballs with gravy. Very Dutch, and very delicious. The Parsnips were processed and put in the freezer. There were eleven freezer bags full. Well chuffed, I wuz.
I have to say Sjoerd, I am only familiar with parsnips as something I put in my soup or beef stew... or beside a roast of beef (which I hardly ever make). What else do you do with them? They look yum and I generally like root veggies a lot. Willem's carrots look like they are sweet, are they?
I hope Willem enjoys his parsnip and that he'll go on to grow some for himself. I've only recently 'discovered' what parsnips taste like and now I'm a real fan. I love them roasted in particular. :-D It's good to experiment with different types of veggies that your now used to eating isn't it?
I usually parboil them and then brown them in a little butter. They are good with roast or baked chicken. I don't think I've put them in soup. Not too many people seem to grow them here and I haven't for years. I'll have to think about it for next year. They are generally not pulled until after cold and frost here either. dooley
Lovely looking harvest, Sjoerd. Again! You're so good at growing stuff. I'm glad Willum tried one. His carrots are looking sooo tasty. If I'd known he had carrots growing he might have had a few less carrots growing. :twisted: No, I wouldn't.
Hello DAISY, Well, I cut them into squares, slivers or strips (like french fries) and fry them in butter, I eat them mashed (made like mashed potatos), steamed and then with melted butter, garlic and parsley poured over them, in stir fries, I have also eaten them grilled in the oven. Actually you can eat them any way that you could carrots--just substitute. It's a versatile veg. You are right, EILEEN--it is good to experiment. I try and do that as much as possible. I'm glad that I'm not the only one to pull mine after the first frost, DOOLEY. If the frosty conditions actually have anything to do with their flavour is debateable, I guess...but I have the impression that it does. I was glad that Willem tried one too, DROOPY. Remarkable for him, as he is sort of inflexible. Now, I know you wouldn't raid his carrots had you known they were there. He wisely kept them in the back. hahaha. However that is not to say that the starlings would not have plundered them, had they been visible from the air...you know the starlings right?...the Sturnus vulgaris norgeus, sub-species-- dulcis liberi. Always the keen birdwatcher, I spotted a couple at the lottie in immature plumage this past summer.
I will be buying some at the grocery today. All the parsnip cooking ideas sound yum. Bet the ones I buy won't be a beautiful or large as yours though, Sjoerd.
Those certainly look good Sjoerd, even if they are two of my least favorite veggies. They are very healthy looking, well grown. And yes I have tasted Parsnips, but I would much rather have potatoes in soups, stews and with pot roast or chicken I probably should get one tho and try it roasted....with potatoes of course.
I have read that they shouldn't be pulled before a frost or a freeze because the cold brings up the sugar content and makes them sweeter. dooley
I believe that is true Dooley, the starches are turned into sugar after a good frosting. They look fab Sjoerd. Mine took an age to germinate this year, but I have a good row. Mine stay in the ground all winter, just coming up as and when they are needed. I usually pull a big bunch on Christmas Eve to roast on Christmas day, and then I start using them up in soups, stews or when I make mash - Mark loves veggie mash, so a mix of spuds, carrots and 'snips, all mashed with a big dollop of butter. MMMMMM. No canker Sjoerd, lovely clean specimens. Wish we had water on site so I could clean the veggies up like that before taking them home - certainly makes things cleaner in the kitchen.
They look very yummy but I have never tried them.I'll try them one day.Sjoerd you bring out the best in everything.
I've never tried Parsnips either, but I think it's about time I did! You've just reminded me that I still have some carrots to pull out in my garden!
Let us hear how those 'snips were, won't you DAISY? I am very curiuous what the store-bought one there will look like. I would actuallly expect to see them looking quite uniform and clean. If your supermarket's supplier are like the commercial growers over here, they grow their parsnips in a very sandy soil and feed them with fertilizer. One of the problems with my soil is that there are pebbels here and there--and you know what that means. Anyway...good luck at the grocer's. Hee hee hee--TONY, I'm surprised that you even read the posting. Well, you know how it goes--taste is very personal. I think that even if I didn't like them, I'd grow them for the Food Bank--it's just so much fun harvesting them. Thanks, EJ--if they look good to you, then they MUST be good. hahaha. I didn't get a very good germination rate this year, but what did germinate, did well. I wish that I could leave them in the ground all winter here, but the soil layer above the water table is just too shallow in the new garden.--They don't call Holland "the Low Countries" for nothing. I coule leave them in the ground longer over in the old garden, but that ground is more compact. Your mash sounds very tasty. I could picture myself sitting doen to a plate full of THAT! That's right, Emma--no canker whatsoever. I am pleased with that. With this wetish weather that we always have here, if I leave the snips in too long, they will get canker, and also become voos. I think that means something like "spongy", but a somewhat fibrous sort of spongy. One can't eat it then. I like having water on the complex, although I do not always clean all the beetroots, parsnips etc. before taking them home. It sure is handy though when the soil is so wet that it clings to the veg.
One of my favorite veggies is rutabaga -- do you guys ever grow that? I thought of it when EJ was describing her veggie mash, which sounds fabulous, btw, EJ. I'll buy my parsnips at the Whole Foods Market, Sjoerd, so they'll likely be nice and healthy and fresh.
Your parsnips look wonderful. As I'm reading, I'm gathering some good pointers. Am going to put these on my garden list to try this next year. Hmmm-pull them out after many frost, you say. O.k. But I wonder when I would need to start them from seeds and then put them in the ground-July August?? I am going to have to read up more on these. Thanks for the idea.
