Parsley – more than a sprig
You know how some folks are always bringing up religion? I’m not like that. I’m always talking about parsley. I can turn a corner and hear folks muttering, “Act like he never told you before.” Parsley is a part of my heritage and yours too, and all that history is counting on me to do my best, and my instinct is to spread the word about parsley.
In one of my earliest lives, we lived in a clearing about a half-day’s walk from the sea, and every dwelling along the way had parsley nearby. Traditionally, its use had been medicinal, but my forbears were conflicted about it. Warriors fed it to their horses to keep them strong, and laurels of parsley were placed on champion athletes, but locals never allowed it on their tables because it had the reputation of being evil. Go figure… little green parsley was supposed to have scurrilous associations.
Nevertheless, at our house, we consumed it like a vitamin. The mom I had that time would ask me, “Did you chew your parsley?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Are you sure?”
“Mom, my teeth are green.”
“How do you know that? We haven’t invented mirrors yet.”
“They taste green.”
She insisted we all, especially dad, eat our parsley because it was a reliable breath freshener.
That was back then, and nowadays it is still known as a breath freshener. That is why restaurants in the past put a sprig of parsley on the plate, but I haven’t seen a parsley sprig with a meal in years. Maybe I should go out more often.
But parsley is more than a breath mint. Eating a sprig is like eating a multi-vitamin because parsley contains ample doses of minerals, vitamins A, C and K plus important flavonoids such as apigenin. Drying parsley actually increases the potency of the apigenin, which early research shows to be an effective anticancer agent. Parsley, as a diuretic, helps the body moderate blood pressure, and vitamin K facilitates bone health. I should eat some now!
Parsley grows well in all kinds of soil. It got its name Petrosilinum because it would sprout on rocky hillsides and even in crevices in rock walls. The seeds take a month or more to sprout, so mark the spot in your garden bed so you remember where they are. There are three varieties of parsley. The traditional northern European variety is P. crispum or curly-leaved parsley. The curled leaves are a darker green that the Italian variety P. neapolitanum, or flat-leaved parsley, which has a more intense flavor. It is also easier to rinse before eating.
The third variety is P. tuberosum, or Hamburg parsley, which is grown for its large root that tastes like a blend of carrot, parsnip and celery. Because sprouting is slow and unpredictable, a strategy would be to plant two or three seeds in small holes one-third of inch deep and eight inches apart. Plant radishes between the seed holes to mark the territory. Then, what’s your hurry? Parsley teaches patience.
Parsleys are biennials which means they finish their life cycle during the second year. The first-year plants are cold-hardy in most winters around here with a bit of protection. The leaves are tastier the first year, and the second-year plants can become tall and awkward, even prone to flopping over, but if you let a plant go through its entire life cycle and go to seed, the fully mature plant will scatter seeds all around.
I’ve had volunteer parsley plants sprout along the edges of pathways, and I would eat a sprig as I walked by. You know who else eats parsley? Black swallowtail larva. They can handily denude a parsley or fennel plant overnight, but the plants usually recover, and we get to see butterflies flitter by.
Parsley is a carminative which means it facilitates digestion and prevents gas accumulation. So, more butterflies, less gas… eat your parsley.