"PRESIDENT & PARSNIP"

This is the yellow flower that the president of the republic of Finland has found and made world famous. Outside of the country's borders foreign press is not wondering about the flower, but about the the character of a president who patiently waits for his turn in the queue... And when his turn finally comes, he introduces himself as "Sauli from Naantali". (That's where Mr. president's summer residence, KULTARANTA is located.) This is the story in a nutshell, about our president calling  national radio's nature-program. Foreigners have hard time believing that a president can be so down to earth and ordinary.  HERE you can find one story written about the event.

Our president enjoys summer in the nature, just like any Finn does. He observes flowers, and wild plants, and anybody can follow the findings via his official Facebook page. Finland's president posts comments himself, signing with his initials; SN. Our summer has been cold, but so far Mr. president has found 140 wild flowers. That's a lot!

Parsnip belongs to the same family with fennel and dill, and is surprisingly common on the roadsides of Southern Finland. It's good to be aware that the milky liquid it contains, might cause an allergic reaction to some. But the root is just the same what we buy in a supermarket. As all wild plants, the flavor is more intense compared to the cultivated one. But I think it's pretty darn great that we have such a delicious vegetable growing wild, waiting for anyone, (even the head of state,) just to pick (= dig) it up and make a dinner out of it!

WARNING: One has to know when the root is ripe for picking... Parsnip grows 2 years and spreads the seeds to make "offsprings"... The aroma of the root is amazing, at all states, but when the vegetable gets too old, it becomes tough and wood-like. If your findings are like that, do not even try to make a parsnip puree out of them. Instead; when making mashed potatoes, boil the potatoes together with parsnip, and discard the parsnip just before pureeing the potatoes. The aroma of wild parsnip will flavor your mashed potatoes to new dimensions...