[JJ]

HI WENT TO THE ALLOTMENT TODAY AND I PICKED A PARSNIP IT WAS ABOUT 12"LONG.
ITS MY FIRST ONE. I NO THEY SHOULD NOT BE THAT BIG,BUT WILL IT BE OK TO EAT STILL.I THOUGHT THEY WERE A WINTER VEG

[DD.]

JJ - please take your caps lock off. It can be construed as as shouting and very rude.

Parsnips can grow a lot longer than 12".  They are a veg that will over winter, you can dig them earlier, but they will not have attained their full taste yet.

[peapod]

It will be fine to eat, but not at the taste it can have potentially (search for DDs pic)

 Size isnt everything! But leave snips as long as you can IMO

[DD.]

I'm aslo wondering why if you knew they were a winter veg, you "picked" one now.

[AlotArds]

I done a sample of mine today, about 4" nice and thick, tasted nice with some carrots, hope the rest are the same.......
by the way temp here in NI has hit 1C already.

We have had a couple of dry days so hope corn picks up

[Roll Roll]

When I thinned my parsnips out a couple of months ago, we used the thinnings in stew. It was fantastic, not to overpowering.