Generality
ATTENTION! The following article deals with parsnips as a vegetable or vegetable, but does not deal with the cartilaginous fish of the same name, also known as stingrays.
The parsnip (or white carrot, in English parsnip) is a vegetable belonging to the Apiaceae family, identified with the binomial nomenclature Parsnip sativa.
The parsnip is a biennial plant generally cultivated with annual production. Its long tuberous root has a cream-colored skin and pulp; it can be left on the ground even when fully ripe, so that it becomes sweeter following the winter frosts. In the first growing season, the parsnip shows a rosette of green pinnate leaves. If abandoned in seed, in the second growing season it produces a flowering stem surmounted by a parasol of small yellow flowers. At that point, the stalk of the parsnip becomes woody and the tuber is almost inedible. The seeds are light brown in color and flattened in shape.
The parsnip is native to the Eurasian continent, where "it has been used as a vegetable since ancient times; the first crops were Roman, even if the bibliographic references are not sufficiently clear on the distinction between parsnip and carrot. Parsnip was used as a sweetener even before "European advent of cane sugar and was introduced in the United States only in the nineteenth century AD.
The parsnip is generally consumed cooked, but it is also edible raw.
It is rich in vitamins and minerals, especially potassium. It also contains antioxidants and dietary fiber.
The plant must be grown in deep, stone-free soils; it negatively suffers the infestation of the "carrot fly" and other parasitic insects, and is also exposed to virus infection and fungal diseases, the most serious of which is a kind of gangrene. With exposure to sunlight, contact of the stalks and leaves of the parsnip on human skin can cause a rash reaction (phytophotodermatitis).
Nutritional Characteristics
The parsnip contains 74kcal / 100g and, despite being considered an average low-calorie food, it is one of the most energetic vegetables; in this sense, it is comparable to the potato.
Most parsnip cultivars produce tuberous roots with approximately: 80% water, 8% total carbohydrates, 5% simple sugars, 1% protein, 0.2% fat and 5% dietary fiber.
Parsnips are rich in minerals, especially potassium (350mg / 100g).
Nutritional values
In the root there are many water-soluble vitamins, even if most of the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is lost in cooking. Since most of the vitamins and minerals are found near the peel, depriving it of this coating is renounced much of the nutritional value; for this reason, it is advisable to cook the root whole and with the peel.
During the winter frosts, a part of the starch contained in the parsnip is converted into simple sugars and thanks to this reaction increases the sweet taste of the food.
Consuming parsnips can confer potential benefits for human health. Containing various antioxidants such as: falcarinol, falcarindiolo, panaxydiol And methyl-falcarindiol, parsnip is considered a product with anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal characteristics.
The dietary fiber of parsnips is both soluble and insoluble, and largely includes cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The high fiber content of parsnips can help prevent constipation and reduce blood cholesterol levels.
The parsnip is suitable for most diets, taking care to moderate the portions in diabetics (type 2 mellitus), in hypertriglyceridemics and in the obese.
The abundant potassium content, on the other hand, is a desirable characteristic in the diet of athletes and those with hypertension (a disease that generally improves with high amounts of this mineral).
Parsnips and Risks
While the parsnip root is edible, handling the buds and leaves of the plant requires great care, as the sap that flows through them is toxic to humans.
Like many other members of the Apiaceae family, the parsnip contains furanocoumarin, a photosensitizing chemical that, upon skin contact, triggers a condition known as phytophotodermatitis. This is a form of chemical burn and not an allergic reaction, visually very similar to the rash caused by poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans).
Symptoms of parsnip phytophotodermatitis include redness, burning, and blistering. The affected areas can remain discolored for up to two years.
Although there have been several cases of skin rash in gardeners who have manipulated the leaves of the parsnip, these are few events compared to the number of subjects who come into contact with this vegetable. The chances of adverse reactions increase on sunny days, when clearing excess leaves or eradicating old plants in seed; symptoms are mostly mild or moderate.
The toxic properties of parsnip extracts are heat stable and remain for several months after storage. Symptoms can also affect livestock or poultry in parts of their bodies exposed to the leaves.
In some vegetables of the Apiaceae family, such as parsnips, the presence of polyacetylene, a compound with cytotoxic properties.
Culinary Uses
Parsnip looks a lot like carrot and can be used in pretty similar ways in cooking; however, it has a noticeably sweeter taste, especially in cooked form (the most used).
Parsnips can be baked, boiled, steamed, pureed, roasted over a fire or fried. It can also be used in stews, soups and casseroles, to which it gives a very rich flavor.
In some cases, the parsnip is added to the preparations but, at the end of cooking, the solid parts are removed, leaving a more delicate flavor; the starch it releases also has the function of thickening the cooking liquids.
In some Anglo-Saxon places, the roast parsnip is often an ingredient of the Sunday roast and is considered almost essential for the Christmas dinner.
The parsnip can also be thinly sliced and fried, to make a sort of "chips". It is also used to make an alcoholic drink that tastes similar to "Madeira Wine".
In Roman times, parsnips were believed to boast of aphrodisiac properties.
Today, this tuberous root does not represent a typical ingredient of Italian cuisine and is used above all in the feeding of pigs, in particular (they say) those reared to produce the well-known Parma ham.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the indigenous parsnip is used as a medicinal herbal remedy.
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