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David in Normandy[_8_] · 05-10-2010, 03:38 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 05/10/2010 15:37, wrote:
In ,
Stewart Robert wrote:

Common wisdom, for what it's worth, is that potatoes became a staple
because they produced a higher yield per acre then other crops.

I'm mildly curious as to when parsnips (as opposed to carrots,
beetroots, turnips and swedes) were a staple, and as to what the
advantages of parsnips are.

I believe that the evidence for the former is scant, but the answer
to the second is a higher calorific content and less liable to rot
over winter.

I was harvesting parsnips from the garden right through last Winter and
into Spring. If anything their flavour seemed to improve for having been
frozen solid in the ground on a few occasions. They seemed sweeter. The
extreme cold didn't seem to bother them at all.

--
David in Normandy.
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