Parsnips have a peculiar, sweetish flavor that is objectionable to some persons. Those who are fond of this flavor find that parsnips afford an excellent opportunity to give variety to the diet.

Parsnips can be used during the summer when they are immature, but are usually allowed to mature so that they may be stored and used as a winter vegetable.

The parsnip is much sweeter and richer in flavor when left in the ground until spring.

INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS

PREPARE PARSNIPS FOR COOKING
Scrape them if possible, instead of peeling them, so as not to waste any of the edible material. Try to obtain medium-sized parsnips, for they will be of much better quality than the larger ones. If uneven sizes must be used, the larger ones should be cut before being cooked, so that they will be similar in size to the smaller ones and therefore cook in the same length of time.

PARSNIP PUFFS
Take one egg, well beaten, and add one teacup* each of cold water and flour, one teaspoon baking powder, one-half teaspoon salt, and one teacup of well-mashed, boiled parsnips. Stir very lightly and only enough to mix. Do not let it stand long. Drop by the tablespoonful into hot, melted fat in a frying pan, and cook until a delicate brown.

*teacup – same as a jill or gill; four ounces U.S.

CREAMED PARSNIPS
Clean and scrape parsnips and cut them into dice one-half inch in size, to make two cups. Put in sufficient boiling salted water to cover, cook until they may be easily pierced with a fork, then drain. Melt two tablespoons butter in a double boiler, and add two tablespoons flour, one-half teaspoon salt, and a dash of pepper. Stir in one cup hot milk and cook until the mixture thickens. Pour this sauce over the parsnips, heat together for a few minutes, and serve.

FRIED PARSNIPS
Scrape and wash parsnips, cut off the small end, and cut the thick part into half-inch  slices. Put them in boiling water with a tablespoon each of salt and sugar. Boil an hour or until nearly done, and drain. Beat two eggs, four tablespoons flour, one-half pint of milk together, and season with salt and pepper. Dip the slices of parsnip into this batter, then in bread crumbs and fry in boiling lard or dripping until a golden brown. Pile them in a heap on a napkin and serve very hot.

PARSNIP FRITTERS
Scrape and boil some parsnips until tender, then drain thoroughly and mash. Mix in with them two beaten eggs, salt to taste, and add sufficient flour to bind them stiffly. Divide and mold the mixture into small round cakes with floured hands. Put a large piece of butter into a stewpan, place on the fire and let it boil. Then put in the cakes and fry to a nice golden brown color. Take out and drain, and serve on a napkin spread over a hot dish, with a garnish of fried parsley.

PARSNIP CROQUETTES WITH WALNUTS
Take two good-sized parsnips and peel and cook them until tender in as little water as possible. When done, press the water carefully from them and mash them smooth and fine through a colander. Put them back into the saucepan over the fire again, and add to them two heaping tablespoons of chopped walnut meats, a good heaping tablespoon of butter, and a tablespoon of rich cream. Stir well together and add at the last one egg, well beaten. Remove from the fire and turn out on a plate to cool, then form into cylinders, dip in egg and bread crumbs and fry in boiling fat.

MASHED PARSNIPS
Wash and scrape some parsnips, cut in pieces lengthwise, and put them in a saucepan with boiling water. Add a little salt and a small lump of dripping or butter. Boil till tender, remove and place in a colander to drain. Mash them till quite smooth with a wooden spoon, put them in a saucepan with a tablespoon of milk or a small lump of butter, and a little salt and pepper. Stir over the fire until thoroughly hot again, turn out on to a dish, and serve immediately.

PARSNIP SOUP
Cut up one-half pound parsnips, one-fourth pound potatoes, and one-half small onion. Cook until tender, then rub through a sieve. Return the mixture to the saucepan, then add one-fourth ounce butter, and pepper and salt to taste. Add as much milk as needed to make up the quantity of soup. Boil up and serve.

PARSNIP SOUP No. 2
Scrape three parsnips and cut them up fine. Then cut finely one head of celery and one onion. Set the vegetables over the fire with one quart water, one-half ounce butter, pepper and salt to taste. When the vegetables are quite tender, rub them through a sieve. Return the soup to the saucepan, add one-half pint milk, and one tablespoon of fine wheatmeal. Boil up for five minutes and before serving, add one tablespoon vinegar. This latter may be left out if preferred.

STEWED PARSNIPS
After washing the parsnips, slice them about half an inch thick. Put them in a saucepan containing enough boiling water to barely cook them. Add a tablespoon of butter, season with salt, then cover closely and stew them until the water has cooked away, stirring often to prevent burning. When they are soft, they will be of a creamy, light straw color, and deliciously sweet, retaining all the nutrition of the vegetable.

BROWNED PARSNIPS
Parsnips that are browned and sweetened with sugar seem to meet with greater favor than those prepared by other methods. To prepare them in this way, clean and scrape the desired number of parsnips, and slice them in thick slices, or if they are small, cut them in halves lengthwise. Put them to cook in boiling salted water and cook until they may be easily pierced with a fork, but are not tender enough to fall to pieces. Melt some fat in a frying pan and place the slices of cooked parsnips in it. Brown on one side, turn, and then brown on the other. Sprinkle with a little sugar and, if necessary, additional salt. Serve.

BROWNED PARSNIPS No. 2
Wash, pare and cut parsnips into one-half inch slices to make one quart. Cover with boiling water and boil until tender, twenty-five to thirty minutes; then drain. Take two tablespoons butter or bacon drippings to grease a griddle or frying pan. Brown parsnips on both sides. Mix one teaspoon salt with one-eighth teaspoon pepper, and season. Serve hot.

PARSNIP CAKE
Boil two or three parsnips until they are tender enough to mash. Then press them through a colander with the back of a wooden spoon, and carefully remove any fibrous, stringy pieces there may be. Mix a teacup of the mashed parsnip with a quart of hot milk. Add a teaspoon of salt, four ounces of fresh butter, half a pint of yeast, and enough flour to make a stiff batter.

Put the bowl which contains the mixture in a warm place, cover it with a cloth, and leave it to rise. When it has risen to twice its original size, knead some more flour into it, and let it rise again. Make it into small round cakes a quarter of an inch thick, and place these on buttered tins. Let them stand before the fire a few minutes, and bake them in a hot oven*, about twenty minutes. They do not taste of the parsnip. 

*hot oven – about 400-450 degrees Fahrenheit.

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