Parsley, or garden parsley ( Petroselinum crispum), is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to Greece, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia.
It is believed to have been originally grown in Sardinia, and was cultivated in around the 3rd century BC. Linnaeus stated its wild habitat to be Sardinia, whence it was brought to England and apparently first cultivated in Britain in 1548, though literary evidence suggests parsley was used in England in the Middle Ages as early as the Anglo-Saxon period.
Parsley is widely used in European cuisine, Middle Eastern, and American cuisine. Curly-leaf parsley is often used as a garnish. In central Europe, eastern Europe, and southern Europe, as well as in Asian cuisine, many dishes are served with fresh green chopped parsley sprinkled on top. Flat-leaf parsley is similar, but is often preferred by chefs because it has a stronger flavor.
Etymology
The word "parsley" is a merger of
Old English petersilie (which is identical to the contemporary
German language word for parsley: Petersilie) and the
Old French peresil. Both of these names are derived from
Medieval Latin petrosilium, from
Latin petroselinum, which is the latinization of the
Greek language ,
from
and .
[The Euro+Med Plantbase Project: Petroselinum crispum ][Interactive Flora of NW Europe: [2]] Mycenaean Greek se-ri-no, in
Linear B, is the earliest attested form of the word
selinon.
Description
Garden parsley is a bright green,
biennial plant in temperate climates, or an
Annual plant herb in
Subtropics and
Tropics areas.
Where it grows as a biennial, in the first year, it forms a rosette of tripinnate leaves 10–25 cm long with numerous 1–3 cm leaflets, and a taproot used as a food store over the winter. In the second year, it grows a flowering stem to tall with sparser leaves and flat-topped 3–10 cm diameter with numerous 2 mm diameter yellow to yellowish-green flowers.
The are ovoid, 2–3 mm long, with prominent Gynoecium remnants at the Meristem. One of the compounds of the essential oil is apiole. The plant normally dies after seed maturation.
Uses
Culinary
Parsley is widely used in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Brazilian, and American cuisine. Curly leaf parsley is used often as a garnish. Green parsley is used frequently as a garnish on potato dishes (boiled or mashed potatoes), on rice dishes (
risotto or
pilaf), on fish, fried chicken, lamb, goose, and
, as well as in meat or vegetable stews (including shrimp creole,
beef bourguignon,
goulash, or chicken paprikash).
Parsley seeds are also used in cooking, imparting a stronger parsley flavor than leaves.
Parsley, when consumed, is credited with neutralising odours associated with garlic in cooking.
In central Europe, eastern Europe, and southern Europe, as well as in western Asia, many dishes are served with fresh green, chopped parsley sprinkled on top. In southern and central Europe, parsley is part of bouquet garni, a bundle of fresh herbs used as an ingredient in stocks, , and . Freshly chopped green parsley is used as a topping for soups such as chicken soup, green salads, or salads such as salade Olivier, and on with cold cuts or pâtés.
Persillade is a mixture of chopped garlic and chopped parsley in French cuisine.
Parsley is the main ingredient in Italian Green sauce, which is a mixed condiment of parsley, capers, anchovies, garlic, and sometimes bread, soaked in vinegar. It is an Italian custom to serve it with bollito misto or fish. Gremolata, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest, is a traditional accompaniment to the Italian veal stew, ossobuco alla milanese.
Root parsley is very common in Central Europe, Eastern European, and cuisines, where it is used as a snack or a vegetable in many soups, stews, and , and as ingredient for broth.
In Brazil, freshly chopped parsley (salsa) and freshly chopped scallion (cebolinha) are the main ingredients in the herb seasoning called cheiro-verde (literally "green aroma"), which is used as key seasoning for major Brazilian dishes, including meat, chicken, fish, rice, beans, stews, soups, vegetables, salads, condiments, sauces, and stocks. Cheiro-verde is sold in food markets as a bundle of both types of fresh herbs. In some Brazilian regions, chopped parsley may be replaced by chopped coriander (also called cilantro, coentro in Portuguese) in the mixture.
Parsley is a key ingredient in several Middle Eastern salads such as Lebanese tabbouleh; it is also often mixed in with the chickpeas and/or while making falafel (that gives the inside of the falafel its green color). It is also a main component of the Iranian stew ghormeh sabzi.
Parsley is a component of a standard Seder plate arrangement, it is eaten to symbolize the flourishing of the Jews after first arriving in Egypt.
Military
The
Parsley Massacre in October 1937 claimed the lives of an estimated 14,000 to 40,000 Haitian men, women, and children. Dominican Republic soldiers would hold up a sprig of parsley to someone and ask what it was. How the person pronounced the Spanish word for parsley (perejil) determined their fate. If they could pronounce it the Spanish way the soldiers considered them Dominican and let them live, but if they pronounced it the French or Creole way they considered them Haitian and murdered them. Haitian speakers can have difficulty pronouncing the
alveolar tap or the
alveolar trill of Spanish. However, most scholars think this story an exaggeration.
Composition
Nutritional content
Parsley is a source of
and
, especially
luteolin,
apigenin,
,
vitamin K,
vitamin C, and
vitamin A. Half a tablespoon (a gram) of dried parsley contains about 6.0 μg of
lycopene and 10.7 μg of
alpha carotene as well as 82.9 μg of
lutein+
zeaxanthin and 80.7 μg of
beta carotene.
Dried parsley can contain about 45 mg/gram
apigenin.
The apigenin content of fresh parsley is reportedly 215.5 mg/100 grams, which is much higher than the next highest food source, green celery hearts providing 19.1 mg/100 grams.
Parsley essential oil is high in
myristicin.
[Marín I, Sayas-Barberá E, Viuda-Martos M, Navarro C, Sendra E. Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils from Organic Fennel, Parsley, and Lavender from Spain. Foods. 2016;5(1):18. Published 2016 Mar 4. doi:10.3390/foods5010018]
Precautions
Excessive consumption of parsley should be avoided by pregnant women. Normal food quantities are safe for pregnant women, but consuming excessively large amounts may have
uterotonic effects.
Cultivation
Parsley grows best in moist, well-drained soil, with full sun. It grows best between , and usually is grown from seed.
Germination is slow, taking four to six weeks,
and it often is difficult because of
in its
seed coat.
[Jett, J. W. That Devilish Parsley West Virginia University Extension Service. Last retrieved April 26, 2007.] Typically, plants grown for the leaf crop are spaced 10 cm apart, while those grown as a root crop are spaced 20 cm apart to allow for the root development.
Parsley attracts several species of wildlife. Some swallowtail butterflies use parsley as a host plant for their larvae;
Cultivars
Parsley is subdivided into several
.
Often these are treated as botanical varieties,
despite being cultivated selections, not of natural botanical origin.
Leaf parsley
The two main groups of parsley used as herbs are
French, or
curly leaf (
P. crispum Crispum Group; syn.
P. crispum var.
crispum); and,
Italian, or
flat leaf (
P. crispum Neapolitanum Group; syn.
P. crispum var.
neapolitanum).
Flat-leaved parsley is preferred by some gardeners as it is easier to cultivate, being more tolerant of both rain and sunshine,
[Stobart, T. (1980). The Cook's Encyclopaedia. Macmillan .] and is said to have a stronger flavor
—although this is disputed
—while curly leaf parsley is preferred by others because of its more decorative appearance in garnishing.
A third type, sometimes grown in southern Italy, has thick leaf stems resembling
celery.
Root parsley
Another type of parsley is grown as a
root vegetable, the
Hamburg root parsley (
P. crispum Radicosum Group, syn.
P. crispum var.
tuberosum). This type of parsley produces much thicker
than types cultivated for their leaves. Although seldom used in
Great Britain and the
United States, root parsley is common in
central Europe and eastern European cuisine, where it is used in
and
, or simply eaten raw, as a snack (similar to
).
Although root parsley looks similar to the parsnip, which is among its closest relatives in the family Apiaceae, its taste is quite different.
Gallery
File:Petersilie ies.jpg|Freeze-drying parsley showing name in German, Spanish and Greek on the label
File:Parsley bush.jpg|Flat-leaved parsley
File:Petroselinum neapolitanum flower.jpg|Flat-leaved parsley flower
File:Parsley3.jpg|Immature seeds
File:Flor de perejil.JPG|Flat-leaved parsley flower-Flor de perejil
File:Parsley flower with pollinator.JPG|Bee pollinator on parsley Petroselinum crispum flower
File:CACIK (Basil, parsley, coriander).jpg|A yogurt-based soup garnished with parsley.
See also
-
Apium virus Y
-
List of culinary herbs and spices
-
List of plants with edible leaves
-
List of vegetables
-
Oenanthe javanica
-
Cryptotaenia japonica
External links
