category: food/groceries: herbs

Parsley, bot.: Petroselinum crispum convar. crispum, de.: Blattpetersilie, Petersilie, Schnittpetersilie, Peterling, Peterle, fr.: persil, it.: prezzomolo, es.: perejil

Parsley belongs to the botanical parsley family (bot.: Umbelliferae, Apiaceae) and can be counted as a herb or leaf vegetable. Parsley and parsley root originate in the South East Mediterranean. The desired leafs start growing from the taproot in the second year after planting it. The contain considerable amounts of the vitamins A, C and E. There are two forms of parsley leafs: flat leaf and curly leaf parsley. Curly leaf parsley is a hybrid breed of the flat leaf variety. The leafs are rich in minerals, iron and proteins. Their flavour is produced by essential oils, one of them being apiol. Apiol gives parsley its typical astringent taste that is unfortunately lost in dried parsley.