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Parsley
Scientific Name: Petroselinum
Family:
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Parsley is an herb, known to the ancient Romans as is clearly indicated by its Latin genus name Petroselinum. During past centuries parsley was used more as a medicinal plant than as a garden vegetable. Today it is considered primarily as a seasoning or garnish for soups, salads and sauces. It has become almost indispensable, being used constantly in everyday cookery. It is rich in minerals, primarily iron salts, and, in a smaller degree, sulfur salts; also it is rich in vitamin C. Its most important properties, besides its functions as a seasoning, are its appetite-stimulating qualities. Among the most common cultivated varieties, the three best known are the common parsley with rather small but very aromatic leaves, Naples parsley with large leaves and thick stalks, and curly parsley with typically curly leaves, called Extra Curled Dwarf. In medieval times parsley was thought to belong especially to the devil, and Good Friday was said to be the only day of the year on which it could be sown successfully, and then only if the moon is rising. There is an old country saying in England: "Only the wicked can grow parsley." [Bianchini, Francesco, Corbetta, Francesco, Pistoia, Marilena, The Complete Book of Fruits and Vegetables, United States Translation: Crown Publishers, New York, 1976; Originally published in Italy as I Frutti della Terra, Arnoldo Mondadori Publisher, Italy, 1973]