Parsley, Hamburg Rooted

Parsley is the most popular herb in the world. Native to the Mediterranean, it is now cultivated on every continent and is an ingredient in more cuisines than any other vegetable/herb. It may be the oldest vegetable/herb cultivated by mankind. As a culinary herb it has been used for more than 2,000 years, but as a medicinal herb it has been used for much longer. It was introduced into the British Isles in the 1500s and brought to America with the earliest colonists. It is described by McMahon in the very first book on American horticulture, The American Gardener’s Calendar, (1806).

Most Americans now think of flat-leaf (Italian) parsley as the parsley to cook with, curly leafed as the condiment parsley and Hamburg-rooted as the parsley no one has ever heard of. Unfortunately, flat-leafed parsley has such a strong flavor that it often masks the other flavors in a dish.

Actually, curly-leafed parsley, for the American palate, is excellent because its milder flavor does not dominate the other flavors in a dish. Also curly-leafed parsley is much, much more cold tolerant than flat-leafed. With good mulching, in most winters, curly-leafed can be harvested all winter at Zone 5 and higher.

Hamburg-rooted parsley is little known in the United States, but it has been known and used in Europe since the 16th century where it was first used in Germany. The plant produces leaves that can be harvested like other parsleys, but it is the root that is the important part of this plant. The root is used like one would use parsnip root – in stews, soups, sauces and roasted. It has the mild flavor of parsley, but when roasted it sweetens slightly.

Perhaps the neatest characteristic of parsley is that it is an excellent companion plant. It attracts many beneficial pollinators and insects. When planted near tomato plants it is known to attract the wasp that preys on tomato hornworms. What better friend can you have than that?