Parsley

Flat-leafed or common parsley, if freshly picked, has a firm and individual taste that will surprise anyone accustomed to the coarse and banal curly variety. Parsley is biennial but it must be planted every year for a regular supply because it bolts, flowers and seeds in the second year. The second-year plants, however, should be torn up only as needed in the kitchen, for the roots are intensely aromatic, a far more valuable addition to bouquets garnis or for tossing loosely into stews, stocks and courtsbouillons than the parsley stems usually recommended in their absence.