![]() Lynde says there are some folks you can't kill with a meat-axe." And still he got out alive, with only three bones broke. Which is why one of the characters in Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of the Island could report that "Herb Blewett fell off the hayloft last Wednesday, and rolled right down through the turnip chute into the box stall, where they had a fearful wild, cross horse, and rolled right under his heels. Horses, cows, and pigs, knowing a good thing when they see it, will gobble them right up. Once parsnips and turnips became less popular as people provender, they were still grown to feed livestock. Though it won't actually stop the sweat-just deodorize it! And John Heinerman suggests applying turnip juice to one's underarms to control odor. Eaten raw, turnips will reportedly clean the teeth and massage the gums. The purple "crowns" on Milan turnips are actually a form of sunburn. ![]() While the sweet turnip "bulbs" can boast lots of Vitamin C, phosphorus, and fiber. And the bitterness reportedly comes from their being rich in calcium as well. ![]() Their greens, though somewhat bitter, share the family trait of being very good for you. Turnips, being from the cabbage family, are officially known as Brassica rapa. And parsnip seeds will reportedly cure fevers. They are frequently recommended as a remedy for stones of the kidney and gallbladder. Their affinity for butter is obvious in the old saying that "fine words butter no parsnips." While still tender, they can be served raw as well, though their core will eventually grow tough.īesides being diuretic, parsnips are high in Vitamin C, fiber, folate, and potassium. And they are still frequently served glazed like carrots. That cold turns many of the starches in these root vegetables into sugars, which explains why they taste better if left out! Parsnips, in fact, were often used as a sweetener before sugar became widely available. For they are not so good in any respect, till they have been first nipt with Cold." Herbalist John Gerard held, in the late 1500's, that 'The Parsneps nourish more than do the Turneps or the Carrots, and the nourishment is somewhat thicker." Another herbalist, Tournefort, reported in the early 1700's that "'they are commonly boiled and eaten with butter in the time of Lent for that they are the sweetest, by reason the juice has been concocted during the winter, and are desired at that season especially, both for their agreeable Taste and their Wholesomeness. These days, parsnips are called Pastinacea sativa, from pastus ("food") and sativa ("cultivated"). After all, you don't have to worry about storage space for vegetables that can be left in the ground! Parsnips originally went by the same name as carrots, and must have looked quite similar, since carrots weren't orange back then. Before its advent, parsnips and turnips-far from being exotics-were staples in Europe, especially among the poor. We will probably have to blame the potato. At the supermarket, it took me a while to find them because they were tucked away on the shelf of exotic vegetables-and packaged only three to a bag. As my father would tell you, the old adage goes, "On the 25th of July, sow your turnips wet or dry." Though he will admit that any date in July will probably do!Īfter recently enjoying some parsnips and turnips in a savory stew, I've been puzzled about why these particular root vegetables have declined so much in popularity. The Fourth of July might be a bit early for the turnip's inception, though. ![]() And, as turnips are frequently left in the ground over winter, such a vegetable could-conceivably!-grow for nine months as well. In the above poem, Plath compares an infant in the womb to a turnip which also grows quietly, submerged.
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