Parsnips and Brussels Sprouts
Improved by the Cold
The parsnip-hater surely never ate a parsnip dug in spring after being frozen in the ground over the winter. It tastes like candy. The brussels sprout-avoider has almost certainly never bitten into a sprout that was frosted in late October or harvested in a November snow, when sprouts become downright buttery and sweet. Before they are frozen, parsnips’ earthiness dominates the flavor and brussels sprouts are über-cabbages that smell like the gates of hell. I used to hate both of them.By Sandy Oliver
My mother always included parsnips in her beef stews, and as she served I would watch with anxiety, hoping that somehow the parsnips would fall from the spoon before they reached my plate. Years later, when I was researching historic food, I came across an early 19th-century letter written in March in which the writer reported receiving a neighborly gift of spring-dug parsnips, “considered to be well-flavored.” I tried that: I left parsnips in the ground and dug them in the spring. I was astounded at the sweetness.
Like other members of the Umbelliferae — the family that includes carrots, parsley, fennel, and celeriac — parsnips store sugars in their roots. Where carrots have so much sweetness that it can predominate without chilling, parsnips need the cold to develop their sugars.
In some ways, parsnips are both the last and first vegetable harvested from the garden. They are the last of the previous year’s crops and the first thing ready to eat after the ground thaws. They are not popular enough for breeders to have developed a tremendous number of varieties. The standard one is Harris Model. Where I live in Maine, I usually plant it in late June or early July, and the plants grow until the ground freezes in November. I pile on mulch and then evergreen branches to keep the mulch in place. That way, should there be a warm spell over the winter, the parsnips will not thaw and refreeze, possibly becoming mushy. In spring, I gently lift them out of the ground with a spading fork, leave them in the sun for a few hours, until the dirt dries and I can brush it off, and then I store them in the cellar. Digging the parsnips in fall and then refrigerating them for a couple of weeks is supposed to accomplish much the same thing. I prefer to eat them in the spring, though, because in fall there are so many other freshly harvested vegetables, and parsnips would be just another in a long lineup. In spring they are a treat. On the day I dig them, I make a parsnip stew. It is practically a ceremony, and it forms our whole supper, so welcome and wonderful, a celebration of winter’s end.
In brussels sprouts, the stink comes from the organosulfur compound called sulforaphane, found in most of the Cruciferae, such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. Frost releases brussels sprouts’ sugars, which diminishes the sulforaphane effect, and freezing seems to tenderize them too.
As with parsnips, there are not a great many brussels sprout varieties to choose from, but you can get seed for Falstaff, Gustus, Roodnerf, Diablo, and some others. I plant Gustus in late June and let the plants grow as they wish until the end of September, whereupon I remove the tops. This makes the plant develop its existing sprouts rather than make new ones.
Take note of the number of days to maturity advised on the package. One year I was too eager and set them out early. Then, well before cold weather arrived, the lowest sprouts on the stalk burst forth and sent up tiny stalks of their own with little pea-sized sprouts. If you time the planting and prune the tops, you will harvest more evenly sized sprouts at the end of the season.
In the past few years, I have observed whole stalks of sprouts for sale in supermarkets. They may be a bit fresher than the ones plucked and sold in cartons, but I am not going to trade them for the frosted ones out of my garden. (If you have no alternative, then accept my sympathy.) Nor am I going to buy parsnips in the fall. Watch for signs by farmstands in the spring where you will see the good news that they have freshly dug parsnips. ●
Here are the recipes for Parsnip Stew and Brussels Sprouts with Marsala and Horseradish Cream Sauce.
From issue 90