I keep hearing about parsnips,?!

Oooh. Parsnips are delicious! But if you have never had them you probably find that they taste a bit weird. Their flavor would be characterized as "sweet" though they don't taste at all like carrots or sweet potatoes.

Some ways to use:

1) Peel (or don't peel), cut in chunks and add to beef stew or pot roast.

2) Boil in lightly salted water until soft enough to mash. Mash like potatoes, add a little salt and pepper then serve with a roasted meat dish.

3) Peel (or don't peel), cut into uniform pieces and roast along with a chicken with carrots, little onions, whole unpeeled garlic cloves, and potatoes. Use salt, pepper, and thyme.

4) Cut into thin uniform pieces. Toss into boiling lightly salted water for a few minutes then drain and shake dry. Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the parsnips and toss so they are coated. Cook in the butter for a few minutes. Test for salt. Then add brown sugar, maple syrup, or plain sugar and cook til they are lightly caramelized.

5) Cut into small cubes or chunks and add to vegetable soups or stews. Really good in lentil soup.

They taste very similar to carrots. I personally think they're slightly sweeter than carrots. The texture is a little more firm than a carrot too. Like, when you bite into a raw carrot, it's really crisp & watery. Parsnips are a lot drier & not quite as crisp. They don't taste great raw. At any rate, if you like carrots, you'll probably like parsnips.

They're great just steamed on their own or with other veggies with a little butter & salt. (When steaming veggies, I always mix in a little salt before steaming. It tastes so much better than shaking it on after they're cooked.) They're also great mashed just like you would mash potatoes or added in to mashed potatoes. They're great roasted (alone, or with other root veggies & some herbs), in soups/stews, stir fry, sauteed with some onion and/or garlic, steamed or baked with a glaze, etc. etc.

You know... I was always kinda scared of them but then I tried them and they were FABULOUS.

I've only eaten them roasted, but to me they tasted like a carrot only a bit more flavorful in a different way and they were also sweeter.

Hard to describe a taste online though! my advice would be to go buy one parsnip, chunk it up, and roast it or pan-fry it as a snack. Sprinkle on some sea salt and maybe some coarse pepper, but that way you will really be able to bring out the flavor.

My best meal using parsnips was when I made a big pan of mixed roasted root veggies... I used potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots and turnips. It was delicious!

Experience

It tastes and smells like a light carrot, and tend to be a bit bland. The greens from them are often steamed with bits of parsnip added are good too. They are fairly easy to grow taking into account the weather. Basically you have to wait until a few days of freezing weather before they are harvested (like now). I would think the reason you are hearing about them is this is when they are in season.

its hard to describe the taste of a parsnip. glazed with honey & mustard is a good way to ease yourself into them. try to keep open minded dont convince yourself you dont like them before you,ve tried them.happy parsniping.

they are sort of a cross between a carrot and a potato
they have more starch than a carrot, closer to potatoes in starch and color, but have a more crunchy carrot-like texture and shape

There is nothing else that compares to the taste of parsnips, they are really tasty especially roasted in the oven with honey or thyme..