History and Lore

Prized for its fleshy taproot, parsley root is a member of the family Apiaceae, home to such well-known root vegetables as carrots and parsnips. The plant’s flat, dark green leaves, which are coarser than flat-leaf parsley, are edible, too. An Old World vegetable popular in central Europe and the Netherlands, parsley root is just beginning to catch on in the United States, where it is most commonly found at farmers’ markets. It was grown and used in Germany in the sixteenth century and was introduced to England from the Netherlands in the eighteenth century, though it never really caught on with cooks there.