Choosing parsnips when you’re in the supermarket or farmer’s market needs a little more care than just grabbing the first roots off the pile, tempting as that might be. Delicious as parsnips are, they’re not a different kind of carrot. To avoid food waste we recommend a little bit of forward planning, maybe buying the exact amount you need for a pre-planned meal for the week. Our parsnips are available both in packs and loose at your local supermarket. If you’re buying them loose, here are a few tips to help you pick the perfect parsnip:
Choosing Parsnips–The Details
Resist the urge to pick the biggest parsnip on the pile. Size does matter for parsnips, and the smaller the better. Large parsnips tend to have woody centres which don’t make them as tasty. We know, peeling a ton of smaller parsnips is a bit of a chore compared to just peeling a couple of large parsnips, but it’d be worth it. Besides, if scrubbed clean, parsnip skin is edible and has lots of flavour!
Avoid buying parsnips that have tiny feathery threads at the end, spindly roots, soft spots, visible damage, or are obviously limp. And if you’re buying them during or past winter, that’s when they’d be at their sweetest.
10 Things To Do With Parsnips
Once you’ve bought the parsnips, store them in the veggie crisper part of your fridge. Don’t wrap in plastic: they’d sweat and deteriorate. In your fridge, these delicious, buttery root veggies will last for a week, easy.
As to how you use them: in our humble opinion, anything that a carrot or a sweet potato can do, parsnips can do better. Check out our Parsnip Recipes section for inspiration. Soups, chips, salads, we’ve got you covered. Or stay tuned to our blog for future parsnippy recipe goodness. Happy eating!