Parsnips

Parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) are creamy white root vegetables resembling their carrot cousins (both belong to the family Umbellifera), but they often taste sweeter and nuttier. Best dug and eaten after the fall frosts, they store well in root cellars or controlled environments where their starches convert to sugars. They remain alive in the ground during cold winters and are sometimes preferred as early spring vegetables.