Parsley

Parsley (Petroselinum) is a bright green biennial herb, often used as spice. It is common in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking. In modern cooking, parsley is used for its leaf in much the same way as coriander (which is also known as Chinese parsley or cilantro), although parsley is perceived to have a milder flavor.

Etymology

The word parsley is a merger of the Old English petersilie (which is identical to the contemporary German word for parsley: Petersilie) and the Old French peresil, both derived from Middle Latin petrosilium, in turn from Latin petroselinum, which is the romanization of the Greek "πετροσέλινον" (petroselinon), "rock-parsley", from "πέτρα" (petra), "rock", + "σέλινον" (selinon), "parsley". The earliest attested form of the word selinon is the Mycenaean Greek se-ri-no, written in Linear B syllabic script.

Varieties

Two forms of parsley are used as herbs: curly leaf (P. crispum) and Italian, or flat leaf (P. neapolitanum). Curly leaf parsley is often used as a garnish. One of the compounds of the essential oil is apiol. The use of curly leaf parsley may be favored by some because it cannot be confused with poison hemlock, like flat leaf parsley or chervil. The produce code for parsley is 4899.

Root Parsley

Another type of parsley is grown as a root vegetable, as with hamburg root parsley (Petroselinum crispum var. tuberosum). This type of parsley produces much thicker roots than types cultivated for their leaves. Although little known in Britain and the United States, root parsley is very common in Central and Eastern European cuisine, used in soups and stews. Parsley grows best between 22 and 30 degrees Celsius (72 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit).

Though it looks similar to parsnip it tastes quite different. Parsnips are among the closest relatives of parsley in the Carrot or umbellifer Family of herbs. The similarity of the names is a coincidence, parsnip meaning "forked turnip"; it is not closely related to real turnips.

Cultivation

Parsley grows best in moist, well drained soil, with full sun. It frequently has difficulties germinating because of Furanocoumarins in its seed coat. If the leaves are not harvested, the plant eventually ceases to produce them in abundance and grows a thicker central stalk with small flowers instead.

Parsley attracts winged wildlife. The swallowtail butterfly uses parsley as a host plant for its larvae. Caterpillars are black and green striped with yellow dots, and will feast upon parsley for two weeks before turning into butterflies. Bees also visit the blooms. Seed eaters such as the lesser goldfinch feed on the seed.




Companion plant

Parsley is widely used as a companion plant in gardens. Like many other members of the carrot family (umbellifers), it attracts predatory insects, including wasps and predatory flies to gardens, which then tend to protect plants nearby. For example, they are especially useful for protecting tomato plants as the wasps that kill tomato hornworms also eat nectar from parsley.

In cold climates, parsley is biennial, not blooming until its second year. It offers protection even in its first year as the strong scent of the parsley leaves appear to mingle with the tomato scent and confuse the search paradigms of the tomato moth.

Culinary use

In Central and Eastern Europe and in West Asia, many dishes are served with fresh green chopped parsley sprinkled on top. Green parsley is often used as a garnish. The fresh flavor of the green parsley goes extremely well with potato dishes (french fries, boiled buttered potatoes or mashed potato), with rice dishes (risotto or pilaf), with fish, fried chicken, lamb or goose, steaks, meat or vegetable stews[9] (like beef bourguignon, goulash or chicken paprikash). In Southern and Central Europe, parsley is part of bouquet garni, a bundle of fresh herbs used to flavor stocks, soups, and sauces. Freshly chopped green parsley is used as a topping for soups like chicken soup, green salads or salads like Salade Olivier, on open sandwiches with cold cuts or pâtés. Parsley is a key ingredient in several West Asian salads, e.g., tabbouleh (the national dish of Lebanon, also called terchots by Armenians from Van, historic Armenia). Persillade is a mixture of chopped garlic and chopped parsley used in French cuisine. Gremolata is a traditional accompaniment to the Italian veal stew, ossobuco alla milanese, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest. Parsley is the most abundantly used herb in the Spanish cuisine. Its preferred uses are in paste and dressing.

Root parsley is very common in Central and Eastern European cuisines, where it is used as soup vegetable in many soups and in most meat or vegetable stews and casseroles.


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