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Parsnip Fritters
Take three large parsnips; three tablespoons of flour; one tablespoon of butter (melted); two eggs; one cup of milk; one teaspoon of salt. Boil the parsnips until tender, grate fine or mash them well, and pick out all the fibrous parts. Beat the eggs light, and stir them into the parsnips, beating hard until the whole is well mixed. Then add the butter, which should be measured after it is melted, and then the milk, salt and flour. Fry in deep fat. その
A soft fritter batter built on boiled parsnip rather than a stiff dough. The batter is very wet as written, and that is the thing to manage before anything else.
- Batter consistencyThree tablespoons of flour to a cup of milk, two eggs and mashed parsnip gives a loose batter that will spread and break in the fat. Work the milk in gradually and stop when the mixture drops thickly from the spoon rather than running; you may need a further tablespoon or two of flour depending on how wet the parsnips are.
- Parsnip quantity"Three large parsnips" is an imprecise measure. Reckon on about 1 lb trimmed weight, which yields roughly 1 1/2 cups of mash.
- The fibrous coreOlder, thicker parsnips have a woody central core that will not break down. Halve the boiled roots lengthwise and lift it out before mashing rather than trying to pick strands from the finished puree.
- BoilingCut into even lengths and boil 15-20 minutes until a knife passes through easily. Drain thoroughly and let the steam escape for a few minutes; water left in the parsnip will loosen the batter further.
- Deep fat"Fry in deep fat" names neither the fat nor a temperature; it would have been judged by eye. Hold the fat at 365-375F and drop the batter in by the tablespoon, three or four at a time so the temperature does not fall. Two to three minutes gives a deep brown.
- Melted butterMeasure the butter after melting, as the recipe expressly directs, so the quantity is unambiguous.
- Yield and servingAbout 16 to 18 small fritters, enough for four as a vegetable course. They are served hot alongside roast or boiled meat, not sweetened.
Parsnips were a staple winter root long before the potato displaced them in English and American kitchens, valued because frost in the ground makes their starch convert to sugar and sweetens them. Cookbooks of this period regularly offer parsnip fritters as a way to make the last of the root cellar palatable in late winter and early spring. The Butterick Cook Book came out of the pattern and magazine publisher Butterick, whose household titles were aimed at middle-class women running a kitchen without professional staff.