Turnips. Turnips have little value as a food. Their nutriment consists in the sugar they contain. For those who enjoy the flavor they are a relish, serving as an appetizer, and, like the onion, are to be recommended as a side dish for this purpose.
Parsnips. Like carrots, parsnips are chiefly valuable for their sugar and for the extractives which act as appetizers.
Since turnips, carrots, onions, and parsnips owe a part of their value in nutrition to the extractives which whet the appetite for other foods, it follows that, if one does not enjoy the flavor or the odor, these vegetables lose in value to that individual as a food. If one does enjoy the flavor, it adds to their food value.
Green Vegetables
The question may be asked with reason: “Why do we eat green vegetables?” They contain only about four per cent nutrition, as will be seen by the chemical analysis in the following table, and are mostly made up of water and pulp. It will be noted from the table that they are distinctly lacking in protein (nitrogenous matter) and in carbohydrates; hence, they have little food value. Some of them have strong acids, thus increasing the alkalinity of the blood.
Their merit lies in the fact that they have distinct flavors and thus whet the appetite. Another reason why green vegetables are thoroughly enjoyed is because they come fresh in the spring, when the appetite is a little surfeited with the winter foods and one looks for green things.
TABLE II—GREEN VEGETABLES