canadensis), whose mild, large leaves are
used by the Japanese in soups and salads.
They’re flavored mainly by a mixture of
minor, woody-resinous terpenes (germacrene,
selinene, farnesene, elemene).
Parsley Parsley is a native of southeast
Europe and west Asia; its name comes from
the Greek and means “rock celery.”
Petroselinum crispum is one of the most
important herbs in European cooking, perhaps
because its distinctive flavor (from
menthatriene) is accompanied by fresh, green,
woody notes that are somewhat generic and
therefore complement many foods. When
parsley is chopped, its distinctive note fades,
the green notes become dominant, and a
faintly fruity note develops. There are both
curly-and flat-leaf varieties with different
characteristics; the flat leaves have a strong
parsley flavor when young and later develop a
woody note, while curly leaves start out mild