SC - long white turnips

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Uduido at aol.com wrote:

> I belive the period term for these vegetables was 'pasternaks'. :-) They , of
> course, bear little resemblance to turnips, either in form or flavor. And
> should not be eaten until they have been subjected to a freeze as this
> improves their flavor a hundredfold.

Well, at least in Middle English sources they are generally called
pasternaks. I've seen other variants, all reasonably close to the word
"parsnip".

Interesting, about the freeze. I wasn't aware of that. Not surprised
either, though. Le Menagier says the same thing about both turnips and
cabbages, I believe. I assumed it was a sort of tenderizer, and figured
it also may have been associated with those vegetables with a sort of
mustardy bite to them, and parsnips don't really fall into that
category. 

Do you know what, exactly, the freezing does? Chemically, it would be
inclined to make some sugars turn to starch (at least in the presence of
the enzymes many vegetables have in them). I'm thinking more along the
lines that the freeze makes them more porous and spongy, which makes
them tend to dry out just a bit, and concentrate the sugars. Parsnips
are, BTW, the only vegetable I know, except perhaps for the sugar beet,
which can be boiled in a little plain water and leave a definite syrup
behind in the pot.

Any thoughts on the mechanics at work here, Lord Ras, or anyone else?

Adamantius
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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