To many people, asparagus is the ultimate luxury vegetable. This sign of spring grows amid a large feathery leaf cluster in sandy or other well-drained soil. Planting asparagus, gardeners advise, is a big decision: stalks cannot be harvested until the third year of growth; clumps grow large over the years; and established plants take badly to being moved. An old French slang for hiding taxable transactions from the authorities is "sous des asperges" - money put under the asparagus, rather than under the table or under the mattress. Asparagus grows in full sun; in the U.S. California and Florida provide year-round sources, and asparagus grows well in Mediterranean climates and in China. Spears are usually green or purplish-green. The most luxurious color, white, is produced by sheltering plants from the sun, like Belgian endive.
What to Look For:
Asparagus Storage and Preparation Tips:
Cooking with Asparagus:
Asparagus is most delicious when cooked quickly: steamed, stir-fried, grilled or roasted.
Large stalks can be partially peeled so that they cook at the same rate as smaller tips.
Like artichokes, asparagus tolerates rich sauces but is equally tasty when simply dressed with oil and lemon or vinegar. Chinese stir-fries pair asparagus with garlic, soy sauce and sesame seed. First-of-the-season asparagus makes a wonderful main course and reduces the cost of the overall meal.
Asparagus Nutrition Highlights:
Asparagus provides excellent levels of folate, and the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board points to the wide number and high level of vitamins and minerals available in asparagus. Both the folate and rutin levels of asparagus contribute to healthy cell and blood-vessel walls.
Several of the many nutritional elements asparagus contains result in sulfuric by-products detectable in the odor of urine. (One manufacturer of urinalysis equipment uses this phenomenon to illustrate the superior functions of its machinery!)