Can You Eat Parsnips Raw?

In addition to carrots, the local parsnip was the common root vegetable for a long time. It can be used like carrots and is therefore also suitable as raw food. From the outside, the whitish parsnip root is easily confused with the parsley root. The taste is much milder and sweeter. Parsnips can be prepared in many different ways. What few people know: There are also numerous uses for eating parsnips raw.

In short: Can you eat parsnips raw?

Parsnips can be eaten raw. The whitish root of the beet is used grated or cut into pieces, for example in a salad. Similar to parsley, the green herb flavors hearty dishes or ends up in smoothies. The healthy ingredients make raw parsnips a superfood. However, the fine nutty-sweet aroma of parsnips comes into its own better when cooked or fried.

What do you use when you want to eat parsnips raw?

Parsnips can be prepared in many ways to be eaten raw. Our recipe tips: You can grate the root raw like carrots and cut it into pieces and mix it well in the salad. Alternatively, you can nibble on parsnips as vegetable sticks with or without a dip. Or you dry the parsnip root raw and then use it as a seasoning for recipes.

The herb is even more popular as a spice. The green leaves are used like parsley. At first glance, the feathery green of the parsnip even bears a certain resemblance to parsley, but is much larger and makes a great addition to the green smoothie. Chopped into small pieces, the raw leaves of the parsnip are sprinkled over stews and used to season hearty dishes of all kinds.

Tip: You can even use the fruit of the parsnip. In Eastern European countries, they are given pure or ground flatulent foods to make them more digestible – they have a digestive effect.

What does raw parsnip taste like?

The taste of stewed parsnips is pleasantly sweet. They are hotter raw. They can even be a bit soapy in the finish and taste more or less spicy depending on the variety. Some describe the taste as a mixture of carrots, celery, and parsley root, although the aroma is much more subtle than raw, grated celery, or even parsley root. In general, raw parsnips don’t have the subtle, nutty flavor of cooked, roasted, or grilled root vegetables.

What Are the Benefits of Eating Parsnips Raw?

Parsnips are high in protein with all the essential amino acids, high in fiber, and contain plenty of potassium, but also minerals such as magnesium and zinc. In addition to the most important vitamins from the B group for the nervous and immune systems as well as metabolic processes, the vegetable scores with vitamin C. If you eat parsnips raw, you absorb the healthy ingredients in the highest concentration.

A little side story: In the past, raw parsnip roots were mixed into the feed of dairy cows in winter so that they didn’t lose weight and gave more fatty milk.

How fresh do parsnips need to be to eat raw?

If you want to eat parsnips raw, it is best to use roots with a firm consistency. Our tips: If the root beets can already be bent, they are no longer suitable for eating raw – you bite on them like you would on a rubber sole. Freshly picked from the garden, parsnip roots are particularly crunchy and often just need to be brushed and washed before slicing open to eat raw. Of course you can also peel them, but the healthy ingredients are located directly under the peel, just like with apples. Fresh harvest is no problem in your own garden, even over the winter. Like Jerusalem artichoke, parsnips are one of the few types of vegetables that can overwinter in the ground and be harvested fresh as needed.

If you buy parsnips, you should make sure that the vegetables are firm and not wrinkled. It is better to use older parsnip roots for stewing.