Parsnip, Jicama and Hamburg Parsley are some lesser known root vegetables. Root vegetables are those vegetables where edible portion of the plant is a modified storage root. Popular root vegetables are carrots, beetroots, rutabaga, turnips, radish, sweet potatoes and cassava. Among these vegetables, cassava and sweet potatoes are considered as staple foods as well elsewhere in the world. Cassava or tapioca (Manihot esculenta) and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) are tropical vegetables whereas carrot, beetroot, radish, rutabaga, and turnip are considered as vegetables of temperate and subtropical regions.
Some people categorise yam or dioscorea (Dioscorea spp.), potato (Solanum tuberosum), elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus spp.), taro or colocasia (Colocasia esculenta) and tannia (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) also as root vegetables. In fact, these are not root vegetables. In potato, the edible portion is a modified underground stem or a stem tuber where as in yams and taro, the edible portion is corms or modified storage stems. Some even go to the extent to include onions and garlics also in the category of root vegetables. Remember, onions and garlics are ‘bulb vegetables’ and a bulb is a modified underground stem.
Similarly, ginger and turmeric are also not root vegetables. Edible portion in ginger and turmeric are known as ‘rhizomes’ and a rhizome is a modified underground stem.
As we know, major source of carbohydrates in our diet is cereals such as wheat, rice, maize, and barley and therefore these foods are consumed as our staple foods. However, root crops such as cassava and sweet potatoes are also found to be an excellent source of carbohydrates. So in many tropical countries, especially in poor and developing countries, tuber crops such as cassava and sweet potatoes are consumed as staples owing to the fact that these vegetables are less expensive than many staple food items and at the same time, these crops are high in nutritional value also. However, sometimes, food preparations with root vegetables may be deficient in proteins. Therefore often such foods are eaten with protein-rich fish and meat preparations.
In many African and Asian countries, root crops are an important component of many traditional food preparations. For example, a particular breakfast food prepared from cassava tubers (locally known as ‘kappa biriyani’) is a highly popular ethnic food preparation in South India. This ‘kappa biriyani’ is often eaten with fish curry or meat preparations in order to compensate any protein deficiency in the food. In Brazil and in many other African countries also, cassava is used as a staple food.
In fact, root crops are easy to cultivate as compared to other food crops. These crops can easily be grown as a garden crop and also as a commercial crop.
Parsnip: Scientific name of parsnip is Pastinaca sativa. Parsnip plants are grown for its edible roots. It is closely related to carrot plants and therefore growing practices are similar to those of carrots.
Origin and Taxonomy: Parsnip is believed to be originated in Eurasia.
Plant Description: Parsnip is a biennial plant but cultivated as an annual plant for vegetable purposes. During first year of growth tuber formation is completed and during the second year flowering occurs. Tubers are slender and elongated with cream colour. Small, yellow flowers are borne in umbel inflorescences. Seeds are small, brown-coloured, flat, and winged.
Food Uses of Parsnips: Parsnip roots can be consumed raw as well as cooked. Raw parsnips are used in fresh salad preparations. Parsnips roots are cooked as vegetables, soups, stews, and curries in different ways. Parsnip roots may be stir-fried or sautéed to make delicious vegetables. Parsnip roots may be pickled and canned also. Both fresh and cooked parsnips are rich in nutrients.
Jicama: Scientific name of this plant is Pachyrhizus erosus and it belongs to the family Fabaceae. It is a native of Mexico. Modified tuberous roots of the plants are used as a root vegetable in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Jicama is also known as Mexican yam bean, or Mexican turnip.
Hamburg Parsley or Turnip-Rooted Parsley: Scientific name of Hamburg parsley is Petroselinum crispum var. tuberosum. This is an edible root-forming variety of parsley and is often called as ‘Turnip-Rooted Parsley’. Other common names of this parsley are Dutch parsley, Hamburg parsley, and Heimischer. Only white-colored root tubers of this parsley are edible and these tubers are cooked just like any other root vegetable such as carrot, turnip, parsnip, etc. These parsley roots have celery-like flavour and look like slender white carrots.
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