Ingredients
- Parsnips
- Knife
- Vegetable peeler (optional)
- Vegetable brush
- Large pot of water
- Basket or large slotted spoon
- Colander (optional)
- Sink or big bowl full of cool water
- Sink or big bowl full of ice water (later)
- Paper towels or drying cloths
- Parchment paper or baking mat (optional)
- Flat baking pan (optional)
- Tissue paper (optional)
- Quality freezer containers (bags or hard-sided)
Instructions
- Begin preparing your parsnips for the freezer by soaking them in cold water for at least an hour.
- Once you’re ready to freeze, put a large pot of water on to boil for blanching.
- After they’ve been soaked, scrub the parsnips clean, and brush away excess root fibers with a vegetable brush under running water.
- If you prefer your parsnips peeled, do this now. While the skin contains a lot of nutrition, many people don’t like the outer layers of parsnips. It can be somewhat tough. If you choose to peel, however, peel only a thin layer away.
- Remove the root tips and tops (heads) and any bad spots.
- For larger parsnips, check the core to see if it’s too woody or fibrous to eat. If so, remove it as well.
- Chop your parsnips into pieces.
- To flash freeze the vegetable chunks, space them out on a large, flat pan, preferably lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Put them in the freezer for 2-3 hours until they’re frozen solid.
- Transfer to an appropriate freezer container. Thick zipper bags or hard-sided freezer containers will both work to preserve parsnips long term in the freezer.
Notes
If your freezer doesn’t have space for a pan to lie flat—or you just don’t care whether your parsnips freeze in a clump—you can skip laying them out.
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Additional Time: 0 hours
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