Grown in
Shakespeare's time in English
kitchen gardens. Still cultivated in
France,
Germany and
Italy. The
roots are
boiled tender like
parsnips and eaten hot with a sauce. Said to be sweetish, slightly
pungent, but
inferior to other more widely grown roots.
Boil large roots, young roots can be served
raw with
vinegar and
pepper.
Leaves can be used in the
summer and
autumn as a substitute for
spinach. Young
shoots may be
blanched and served like
asparagus.
In the fairy tale, Rapunzel is named after this vegetable which her father stole from a witch's garden.