Spices & Herbs Codexery

Parsley

A bright green biennial herb native to the Mediterranean and North Africa, widely used in cuisines around the world.

It is widely cultivated as a herb and vegetable and has been introduced and naturalized in Europe and other suitable climates.[1] The plant is biennial, forming a rosette of tripinnate leaves and a taproot in its first year.[2]

Quick Facts

Genus
Petroselinum
Species
crispum

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Parsley is believed to have been originally grown in Sardinia and was cultivated around the 3rd century BC.[3] The earliest attested form of the word selinon is Mycenaean Greek se-ri-no in Linear B.[4] Linnaeus identified Sardinia as the wild habitat of parsley, and while it was brought to England and apparently first cultivated in Britain in 1548, literary evidence indicates its use in England dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period.[3] The ovoid seeds measure 2–3 mm in length, and following seed maturation, the plant typically perishes.[2]

Curly-leaf parsley commonly serves as a garnish, whereas flat-leaf parsley is frequently chosen by chefs due to its more intense flavor.[5][6] A standard Seder plate includes parsley, which is consumed to represent the prosperity of the Jewish people after their arrival in Egypt.[7]

What the cited sources add

The Illinois Extension notes that curly parsley is the most common type in home kitchens, while Italian flat-leaf parsley rules the restaurant industry.[6] Many chefs say Italian flat-leaf parsley is more robust in flavor.[6] Fresh parsley should be used immediately, but if stored with trimmed ends in water, its life extends for about 10 days.[6] Parsley is a source of iron, potassium, vitamin A, K and C.[6]

The Illinois Extension states parsley is a popular herb in many Mediterranean dishes.[6]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Parsley" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss", Plants of the World Online (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Parsley" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Interactive Flora of NW Europe:; Blamey, "Illustrated Flora of Britain and Northern Europe", Hodder & Stoughton, 1989; "New RHS Dictionary of Gardening", Macmillan, 1992, p. 532 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Parsley" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "More on Parsley", Monk's Modern Medieval Cuisine, 26 October 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Parsley" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lewis, "petrŏsĕlīnon (-īnum )", Perseus Digital Library, 1879; Liddell, "πετροσέλινον", A Greek-English Lexicon, 1940; Liddell, "πέτρα", A Greek-English Lexicon, 1940; Liddell, "σέλινον", A Greek-English Lexicon, 1940; The Euro+Med Plantbase Project: Petroselinum crispum; Interactive Flora of NW Europe:; "Palaeolexicon", Palaeolexicon (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Parsley" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Parsley: More Than a Garnish Illinois Extension UIUC", extension.illinois.edu, 2019-05-08 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. "Parsley: More Than a Garnish Illinois Extension UIUC", extension.illinois.edu, 2019-05-08. facts only, no text reused. extension.illinois.edu
  7. Wikipedia, "Parsley" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Seder Plate", My Jewish Learning (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Parsley (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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