Kitchen Garden Forum

I have a few parsnips left in the ground and am unsure how best to preserve them. The leaves have started to sprout again and I'm wondering if this will deplete the roots and make them go soft or inedible. Should I pull them up now, chop off the roots and eat them quickly or will they remain edible if I leave them to go on sprouting?

Make them into wine

Hello Primrose
You are quite right in that once root veg like parsnips or carrots start to make new growth after the winter their quality deteriorates rapidly.
In the past when I've had unused roots at this time of year and needed to clear the ground, I dug them all up and put them in a black bin liner. I kept them in a cool dark corner outside with the top of the bag left open. They lasted surprisingly well for many weeks. Just shake off the dirt taking care not to damage the roots (don't wash them) before bagging them.

John

Thanks John. Think I'll pass on the parsnip wine poppinjay. We made some many many years ago when we first got married. It was dreadful and we ended up using it as a Harpic substitute which was a terrible waste of effort. These days we only make a small amount of wine from our own grape vine.

Hi Primrose,
In the years when I've been lucky enough to have parsnips left at this time of year, I've cut them into chunks of roasting size, parboiled them, then frozen them. I've then used them for roasting as needed. Others I've diced smaller so they can be used in curries etc.
You've obviously had a good year for parsnips - well done

Jamie Oliver has a lovely recipe for parsnip and ginger soup. I've used the last of my parsnips for soup and frozen it.

I thought i had dug all mine up by the end of Jan. Then I saw some small leaves appearing where I was preparing the ground for spuds in March. I dug up no less than 5 good-sized pasnip roots and we had them with a roast. They were delicious.
mike

Mike - the unexpected freebies always taste best