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I have still got plenty of parsnips left, more than enough to get me until the end of February which after then I think they will have been in the ground long enough.  What I would like to know is how to go about freezing them, could someone please be as kind to let me know as I have not done much freezing of produce up to yet and it seems such a shame to waste them.

I presume it would be the same as most veg.....blanche them in boiling water for a few mins then cool immediately (plunge in cold water) then bag up and freeze:)

I works fine though they do loose a little texture.

How about converting some of the excess to soup and freezing?

Curried Parsnip
Parsnip and Apple
Spicy Parsnip
Etc
Etc

Jerry

Oh yes, Jerry!

Especially this one. Use more parsnips to suit. And/or celeriac.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/soup.jpg

Is it necessary to blanche? There are many parsnips still on my plot, and freezing is the only way to contain the glut, but I just peel and cut them up, then bag and straight into the freezer. They seem ok to me.

By the way, parsnips are excellent in curry  :)

wow, thanks for the recipe, tim. i am off to the plot now to harvest some winter veg and make that for lunch :)

Blanch? As with everything surely, short term 'no', but long term 'yes'?

Hey richard, have you thought of storing them in a root cellar  :o? I keep one of my bedrooms unheated and store 'dirty' (unwashed) veg in buckets or sacks, and they keep beautifully, thus saving freezer space for filet de boeuf en croute etc. ha ha  ;D. The serious point being that storage is free, and the rootles taste as if you'd just dug them out of the ground til late Feb or March. You can see if any are starting to sprout (the worst that can happen) and use them first. If you had a porch or cellar this would be even better.

I think, as Tim says, you balnche them if you're storing them long-term but don't need to if you're eating them relatively soon. Blanching stops the enzyme activity which causes them to deteriorate over a long period and ultimately lose both some taste and some smell.

I blanche, chill, then rub with oil and freeze on an open tray till solid. Then I bag them. It means if you are roasting them you shake out as many as you want already "in oil". They are separate and free flowing.

Thank you everyone, I understand blanching better now, my veg rarely stay in my freezer longer than 6 months as they are all consumed, so I don't feel selfconscious about blanching. Tonight we had cheesy leeks with parsnip chips (fried). They made a very tasty alternative to potatoes.

I've got a recipe for parsnip bread.   It tastes absolutely delicious & I've found my niece & nephew will happily munch it without realising Auntie H is sneaking vegetables into their diet.

CC

Nice one, grawrc!

Quote from: grawrc on January 29, 2006, 19:09:33
....
I blanche, chill, then rub with oil and freeze on an open tray till solid. Then I bag them. It means if you are roasting them you shake out as many as you want already "in oil". They are separate and free flowing.

This is a top tip to stop things sticking together.  But if you want the lazy method, do as the frozen food industry does, and blanche them in oil in a deep fryer.  They only need a few seconds at not too hot a temperature (I'd go for 160C if your fryer has a thermostat).

Advice on freezing veg found here: http://gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/freezing.htm

Parsnip bread sounds great - does it still need al the proving and stuff or is it more of a cake?

parsnip bread, the same as potato bread, need the same bread treatment as per usual - but it will turn out denser.
it's lovely, never tried with parsnips but i love  potato bread

Parsnip bread has to be made in the same way as any other bread.   When I make it I use the water from the boiled parsnips in my bread to get all the vitamins.

It's a naturally sweet bread & goes well with home-made soup.

CC

I leave my parsnips in the ground and dig them up as I need them. They keep in good condition this way.

Up to a point, but once they start growing they turn woody. I once got a rabbit eating them all as well. These days they go in the freezer.

Hey froglets, Delia has a recipe for parsnip bread at http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/parsnip-parmesan-and-sage-bread,1421,RC.html. More like a giant parsnip scone!  :o