I've used parsnips a few times, the first time in Beer-Braised Pork with Bacon (so good it's hard not to eat it all in one sitting), but haven't really looked at them. I mean, I've looked at them, just not here.
Check out the fiber!
By that, I mean I haven't looked them up in the Larousse Gastronomique, which disappointingly only includes two brief paragraphs. The highlights include the facts that parsnips were enjoyed during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, is used in all the same ways as, and often preferred over, the turnip, and can be baked or cooked like carrots.
That was not exciting at all. I'm now feeling compelled to recall information that might be of some interest or use for you. I've come across some parsnip prep recipes/sites that will say to cut out that middle woody "core" from the thicker part of the parsnip.
I don't do that. I haven't noticed them so far*; chances are that least favored core is where the fiber is located. And I'm all about the fiber.
Judging by the blade of my knife, there's a fair amount of starch in parsnips.
Reading up on this root vegetable on Wikipedia, I learned that wild parsnips are considered an invasive species or noxious weed because the plant part, the stem and shoots, have a toxin which can cause chemical burns if it touches the skin. Youch! Now that was interesting!
What's really cool is that the parsnips imaged are from Montecucco Farms in Oregon. Yes, that's a state away from me, but it's a family owned farm in business since the early 1900's and they practice sustainable farming methods. The more I read about this family and their methods the more I want to support them.
Montecucco Farms parsnips, available in the produce section of Stater Bros. in one pound bags for $2.99 each.
*That was an inadvertant lie. Apparently I had noticed the parsnip core once before, when I made the Beer-Braised Pork with Bacon the second time. Oops. Maybe core the parsnips if they are to be sliced!
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