Culinary Herbs: Parsley

Parsley is valued for its variety, its flavor and its usefulness in cooking. Growing parsley requires little effort, so it is prized by gardeners of culinary herbs.

 

 

Parsley, a biennial culinary herb, is native to Mediterranean shores. People have been growing parsley for more than 2,000 years. The specific name is derived from the habitat of the plant, which naturally grows among rocks (the Greek word for rocks is petros).

 

Throughout the world today it is unquestionably the most widely grown of all culinary herbs and has the largest number of varieties. In moist, moderately cool climates, it may be found wild as a weed, but nowhere has it become a pest.

 

Like most biennials, parsley develops only a rosette of leaves during the first year. These leaves are dark green, long-stalked and divided two or three times into ovate, wedge-shaped segments.

 

During the second season the erect, branched, channeled flower stems rise two feet or more. At their extremities they bear umbels of little greenish flowers. The seeds are light brown or gray, convex on one side and flat on the other two. They retain their germinating power for three years. In fact, old seed germinates more freely than freshly gathered seed.

Parsley is so easily grown that no garden need be without it. Parsley will thrive in any ordinary soil and will do well in a window box with only a moderate amount of light (not even direct sun is needed). Gardeners often grow it beneath benches in greenhouses, where it gets only small amounts of light.

 

Growing parsley is a slow process. Seed often requires four to six weeks unless soaked before sowing. A full day's soaking in tepid water is none too long to wake up the germs. The drills may be made in a cold frame during March or in the open ground during April.

 

It is essential that parsley be sown very early in order to germinate at all. If sown too late, it won't get enough moisture to sprout. In the open ground the drills should be 12 to 15 inches apart, and the seed planted somewhat deeper and farther apart than in the presumably better-prepared seedbed or cold frame. One inch between seeds is none too little.

 

In the home garden, parsley may be sown as an edging for flower beds and borders. For such purpose it is best to sow the seed thickly during late October or November in double rows close together, say three or four inches. Sown at that time, the plants may be expected to appear earlier than if spring sown and to form a ribbon of verdure which will remain green not only all the growing season but well into winter if desired. It is best, however, to dig them up in the fall and re-sow for the year succeeding.

 

For window culture, all that is needed is a box filled with rich soil. The roots may be dug in the fall and planted in the box. A sunny window is best, but any window will do.

There are four well-defined groups of this culinary herb: common or plain, curled or moss-leaved, fern-leaved, and Hamburg. The last is also known as turnip-rooted or large-rooted. The objections to plain parsley are that it is not as ornamental as moss-leaved or fern-leaved sorts, and because it may be mistaken for fools parsley, a plant reputed to be more or less poisonous.

 

In the curled varieties of parsley the leaves are more or less deeply cut and the segments reflexed to a greater or less extent, sometimes even to the extent of showing the lighter green undersides. In this group are several sub-varieties, distinguished by minor differences, such as extent of reflexing and size of the plants.

 

In the fern-leaved parsley group the very dark green leaves are not curled but divided into numerous threadlike segments which give the plant a very delicate and dainty appearance.

 

Hamburg, turnip-rooted or large-rooted parsley, is little grown in America. It is not used as a garnish or an herb, but the root is cooked as a vegetable like carrots or beets. These roots resemble those of parsnips. They are often six inches long and two inches in diameter. Their cultivation is like that of parsnips. They are cooked and served like carrots. In flavor, they resemble celeriac or turnip-rooted celery, but are not so pleasing. In Germany the plant is rather popular, but, except by our German gardeners, it has been little cultivated in this country.

As for cooking with parsley, the Germans use both roots and tops for cooking; the former as a boiled vegetable, the latter as a potherb. In English cooking the leaves are more extensively used for seasoning fricassees and dressings for mild meats, such as chicken and veal, than perhaps anything else. In American cooking parsley is also popular for this purpose, but is most extensively used as a garnish. In many countries the green leaves are mixed with salads to add flavor.

 

Often, especially among the Germans, the minced green leaves are mixed with other vegetables just before being served. For instance, if a liberal dusting of finely minced parsley be added to peeled, boiled potatoes, immediately after draining, this vegetable will seem like a new dish of unusual delicacy! The potatoes may be either served whole or mashed with a little butter, milk and pepper.

 

 

Kains, M.G. (2007). Project Gutenberg eBook of Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation, Harvesting, Curing and Uses. Retrieved March 28, 2008, from the Project Gutenberg Web site: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21414/21414-h/21414-h.htm.