I’ll admit it, I’ve been obsessing over Asparagus. One of the first veggies to appear in Minnesota each year, these delicacies have a unique flavor that stand alone and plays well with others. These beautiful asparagus  are also packed with powerful nutrition and their season is short, so let’s get right down to business.

Buy or Grow?

The cute little bundles of asparagus hanging out in their wading pools of water in the supermarkets can be hit or miss when it comes to taste and texture.

Tip: Always look for tight buds at the top; once the flowers start unfurling, a chemical to strengthen the plants gets released and makes for woody stalks.

Asparagus Comes from Where?

Recently there’s been a big shift in supermarket asparagus, so it more than likely comes from outside the U.S., namely Mexico and Peru. Between NAFTA and the California drought, it has been tough for U.S. growers. (I am not wading into political waters, just sharing what I’ve been reading.) “It is, you see, a uniquely labor-intensive crop to grow,” according to Cherie Watte, executive director of the California Asparagus Commission, in this interesting article, “75 percent of the production cost of asparagus derives from labor.”

These tender little treats are 5X more perishable than lettuces, making timing important when you’re adding in shipping around the globe.

Different Spears for Different Folks

Add that asparagus really does rocket out of the ground, from under the dirt to full-grown in one day during peak growing conditions. That means skilled pickers have to be constantly picking asparagus stalks for the 6-8 week season. (I wonder what those skilled laborers do the other 44 to 46 weeks of the year?)

The spears are then sorted by size; Swiss folks like the fattest stalks (they know their stuff!) with lessening sizes sorted for different countries. Americans prefer the slimmest stalks. We only see the uniform skinniest spears of the harvest. Which makes me feel so much better about my asparagus patch. I get all shapes and sizes there, all tender and delicious. Wondering what was wrong with my asparagus because of its variations in size is like wondering what’s wrong with ourselves if we don’t all look like the models in magazine…but I digress.

Large scale growers who export internationally require expensive automated machinery to make it profitable, right down to a huge cutter that gets them all the same length for shipping and according to this article, “The boxes are then loaded into a hydrocooler, which bathes them for five minutes in cold, chlorinated water containing food-grade citric acid. This is done to kill any pathogens the asparagus may have picked up in the field or during handling.” Well, hmmm, I’d rather just wash them at home thank you very much. Then those boxes put on THOUSANDS of miles in an airplane. There must be a simpler way, like…

Buy Local

And that brings us to all our amazing Farmer’s Markets. I was at the St. Paul Farmer’s Market on Sunday and couldn’t get over the quantity and quality of the asparagus. This is the better alternative to grocery stores if you ask me, mostly because of taste but also environmentally.   These farmers are out in their fields picking two times a day and dipping into cold water (minus the chlorine) and driving the harvest a lot less than 1,500 miles. Read more HERE about how food miles are calculated and thought about today.

Let’s remember that your local farmer isn’t going to be sorting and sending part of their harvest to Switzerland; so please try the fatter stalks of asparagus- you won’t be disappointed, I promise!

Here’s  a LINK to MN Grown’s listing of Farmer’s Markets. Sustainable and delectable!

Grow your Own Asparagus

Starting an asparagus patch is an ‘intermediate’ grade gardening task. It requires thorough soil preparation but is totally doable. A patch can last up to twenty (yes 20!) years. You’re going to want to buy 1-2 year old crowns. Start with a sunny spot and good drainage. Till the space well, a foot deep, getting rid of all the perennial weeds (yeah right) before planting.

Our own U of M extension service website is where I went to for specs when I planted mine; and here’s what they recommend, “Plant crown buds upward in a trench or furrow, about 12-18 inches apart and 6-8 inches deep. Cover the crowns with 2-3 inches of soil immediately after planting to keep them from drying out, and then continue to add soil as the shoots emerge, until eventually the furrow is filled by the end of the first growing season.”

The first two years you shouldn’t harvest many (if any) spears, but this waiting pays off big time over the span of the next 20 years as plants continue producing bumper crops.

I love my Perennial Food Crops! Other articles on Aronia Berries, Strawberries, and Herbs. Did you know there’s even a perennial kale, which I discuss in my article, Oh Kale Yeah .

So Good for You

I’m telling you, it is such a cool feeling to be able to start harvesting fresh veggies in early May in Minnesota. Because it is a perennial vegetable, it stores up its energy in its crown (aka root system) over winter. The large fern like stalks that grow when you stop harvesting gather all the plant needs to show up again early next spring and satisfy your green desires.

Maybe it is just because we bit the bullet and planted an asparagus patch a few years ago, but we anticipate our first meal with asparagus for weeks. It seems like our bodies crave it.

It is a nutritionally unique veggie. Researchers have identified nearly 100 phytonutrient compounds in asparagus. Now, I’m not going to tell you I know exactly what that means, but it sure sounds good, right!

Asparagus is an excellent source of vitamin K, folate, copper, selenium, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, and vitamin E. It is a very good source of (prebiotic) dietary fiber, manganese, phosphorus, vitamin B3, potassium, choline, vitamin A, zinc, iron, protein, vitamin B6, and pantothenic acid. For even more on the Health Benefits of Asparagus, read this article.

Eating Asparagus

Grilling with a little olive oil and S & P is easily my favorite, but roasting, sautéing with ramps (that recipe and blog on ramps here) or alongside some eggs are close runners up.

Basically, try to keep the spears out of water, and use a quick cook/ high heat method to let them hold onto as much nutritional value as possible.

There are so many great asparagus recipes out there, I won’t even try to outdo this collection.

So, is your mouth watering for asparagus yet? Do you have a favorite recipe? Or are you ready to make an investment that will pay you back for 20 years and plant your own asparagus patch?

Dig In!

Michelle

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