Once you learn the right way to prepare it you will love asparagus. In many regions it’s the first sign of fresh vegetable season. If you have only tried canned asparagus, you’ll want to take the time to learn about fresh asparagus and give this amazing vegetable a try. Living in the Pacific Northwest and I have grown up eating fresh asparagus. Honestly, I didn’t even know you can buy it canned until investigating at the grocery store. I’m curious what the texture is now. Let’s take a look at this super-green springtime miracle and how to enjoy it.

What is it?

Asparagus grows naturally as a perennial plant in Europe (mostly Spain, Ireland, and Germany) and the United States. The leaves are actually the spear shaped stalks that, in a traditional leaf, would be the stem running down the middle. Early in the growing season, the tender asparagus spike is small and slender without buds or berries. That’s when they are perfect for plucking. The asparagus plant usually produces yellowish or white bell-shaped flowers and small red berries once the plant has matured into a hard, woody plant, not suitable for eating. As a matter of fact, the berries are poisonous.

History

Asparagus had an early start in the medicinal field due to its diuretic properties. You can actually find a recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest known cookbook, Apicius’ De re coquinaria, Volume III. Asparagus was originally cultivated by the Egyptians. Later the Greeks and Romans ate fresh asparagus during the warm spring and summer months and dried it to use in soups during the colder winter months. In the Middle Ages, asparagus lost its popularity, returning later in the seventeenth century and has become a popular vegetable in today’s culinary environment.

Health Benefits

If you are looking for a low calorie, nutrient rich vegetable, asparagus is the answer. Asparagus is  a great source of B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and zinc. With high amounts of dietary fiber found in the outer stalk and elevated levels of folic acid, iron and vitamins E and K, asparagus is also a great food for pregnant women or nursing mothers as these are nutrients your baby needs to develop and stay healthy.

Fun Facts

Asparagus was once classified in the lily family like its cousins onion and garlic, but has since been moved into the flowering plant family, named Asparagaceae.

The green variety of asparagus is eaten worldwide, though the availability of imports throughout the year has made it less of a delicacy than it once was. In the UK, due to the short growing season and demand for local produce, asparagus commands a premium and the summer season is looked forward to all year long.

In northern Europe, there is a strong following for white asparagus which is local to the region, nicknamed ‘white gold.’  Asparagus was so highly demanded in the Eastern world that France’s Louis XIV had special greenhouses built solely for growing it.

In the northern climates in the United States, spring is anxiously awaited for many reasons, including the asparagus that starts peeking through the ground as soon as the snow melts and the soil warms. Wild asparagus, or ‘roadside asparagus’ is a welcome sight, making many a motorist stop and pick fresh asparagus to their heart’s content.  This is exactly what we would do on visits to my Great-grandma’s house!

How to eat

Asparagus spears are served in a number of ways. A typical preparation would be as an appetizer or side dish. In Asian cooking, asparagus is often added to stir-fry and served with chicken, shrimp, or beef. In the United States, asparagus is often eaten wrapped in bacon or quickly grilled over charcoal. Many cultures use asparagus to flavor soups or served steamed with a light hollandaise sauce. You’ll find asparagus, lightly cooked and bright green in color, diced and tossed in a variety of pasta dishes, hot or cold.

An easy way to cook asparagus without over cooking it, which would leave it bitter and limp, is to roast it on a baking sheet tossed with olive oil and salt. Quickly blanching the asparagus in a basket dropped into a deep pot of boiling water, then cooling in an ice bath, is another way to maintain the color, flavor, and crisp-tender texture perfect for asparagus. Asparagus is usually not eaten raw, but is often flash-cooked to maintain the crunch of raw with the flavor of cooked.

When choosing your asparagus bunch from the grocery store, look for firm, small, dark green shoots with tightly bunched heads. This will ensure you get the freshest batch. The bottom portion of the asparagus may be woody and covered in sand and dirt. Wash the asparagus thoroughly, then give the stem a quick snap; the stalk will bend and break where it is tender. Just throw the the bottoms that snap off as they are too woody to eat.

Pick up any recipe book and chances are you will find at least a few amazing recipes with asparagus as the supporting, or starring, role. Give asparagus a try in a new recipe and see for yourself why people have been raving about asparagus for centuries.

This weekend I posted a yummy recipe for Wrapped Up Asparagus with Avocado Spread

If you haven’t spent a lot of time in the apple growing regions, you may not know how versatile this fruit is. Having lived in Washington all my life, we love our apples and all the different recipes. Apples come in all sorts of shapes, colors, and tastes; not just the two or three you may know from your local grocery store’s bagged produce department. Apples grow in just about every corner of the globe. Apples can be used in a variety of dishes from appetizers to main dishes to desserts. Let’s get down to the core and see where apples come from and how they earned their rightful place in almost every aspect of our dietary lives.

What is it?

Apples are the fruit born from apple trees, of course. They come in various shades of red, yellow, and green and most have a white flesh that varies in texture from crisp to soft. Spanning the taste spectrum from sugary sweet to pucker-up tart, apples are one of the more versatile foods in the marketplace.

History

Apples have been around in one form or another for over 4,000 years. They were first brought to the United States in the early 1600′s by explorers and settlers. Apples were highly valued and became a staple food in most households because they stored well fresh and were easily dried, then became the star of the home-canning world. Today, apples are still treated the same way – with appreciation for their versatility in recipes, ease of storage, and variety of preservation methods. For these reasons, apples are enjoyed by thousands around the globe.

Health Benefits

Apples have proven to be beneficial in every health aspect from bone protection to alzheimer’s prevention, and even diabetes management and cancer prevention. The reason apples are linked to all of these health benefits is because of the two integral layers – the skin and the pulp – both being an excellent source of vitamin C, just to name the most obvious and well known nutrient. Along with the added nutrients, the things that are missing from apples also make them noteworthy under the ‘health benefits’ tag; namely, apples are fat free, sodium free, and cholesterol free.

Pectin in the meaty part of the apple helps manage diabetes by supplying galacturonic acid which lowers the body’s need for insulin. Phloridzin, a flavanoid found only in apples, may help protect menopausal women from the frightening occurrence of osteoporosis. A nutrient found in apple skins, boron, has been found to strengthen bones.

Apples also have fiber which will help aid in digestion and help improve your risk of heart disease. Fiber can also help to make you feel more full at meals, therefor not eating as much at a sitting.

Fun Facts

Apple trees can live for many years; sometimes well over a century. There are more than 7,500 varieties of apples grown in the world and about 2,500 of those are grown in the United States. Over half of the US apples are grown in Washington. Yep, we’re attached to our apples around here and it’s rare to go far without seeing an apple tree in someone’s yard. Red Delicious is the most popular and well-known apple in the USA, with Golden Delicious following behind in a close second. Granny Smith apples are fast approaching these two powerhouse apples in popularity. The average American eats more than 70 apples a year, and considering apples are free of fat, salt, and cholesterol, as well as being a good source of dietary fiber and vitamin C, it’s no wonder our doctors are trying to get us to eat one a day.

How to Eat Raw Apples

Eating a raw apple is as simple as diving teeth-first through the crisp skin right into the sweet or tart insides, and letting the juice run down your chin. If you wish to give your teeth a more gentle approach, and keep a neater smile, you can also core and cut the apple into wedges. Once you have these juicy little wedges, you’ll be looking for goodies to dip them into. You don’t have to look much further than peanut butter for a classic snack.

Apples can be diced and added to a fruit salad, tossed into a crunchy tuna salad with celery, or dipped in chocolate and caramel and topped with nuts. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ways to eat a raw apple. If you are lucky enough to be around an apple orchard, then there is nothing like picking a ripe apple from a tree, still warm from the sun, and enjoying each bite right in the shade of the branches of the apple tree.

I know around here we have candied apples in many stores. We treat apples like a sundae. Dip it in caramel and then dip into your favorite toppings. Nuts, chocolate, white chocolate chips and marshmallows to name a few of the extra yummy choices of toppings.

Ways to Eat Cooked Apples

You can get as fancy as you want or as down-home simple as can be with apples. From apple pie to apple crisp and apple pastries to apple omelets, cooked apples are a favorite food around the world. Looking for something simpler than a pie? Just simmer the apples until they get soft, throw in a little sugar and cinnamon, and mash them into, you guessed it, applesauce. Eat it as it is or serve over ice cream.

What if you don’t have a sweet tooth? Apples are often found in side dishes with cabbage, collard greens, spinach, or other savory vegetables. You will find a delightful mix of flavors when you add apples to a skillet full of harvest vegetables, onions, and a splash of balsamic vinaigrette. And, don’t forget to try your hand at an apple glaze for your next pork tenderloin. Think beyond apple pie and you’ll discover a whole world of recipes for your next bag of apples.

No matter how you decide to eat your apples, just remember the old adage, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ Now we have the scientific studies showing all the nutrients there are in apples, so there’s no excuse not to add this versatile fruit to your diet. Of course, that cool, crisp crunch of an apple alone should convince you to take a bite!

I have a few apple recipes for you to try.
Slow Cooker Apple Butter
Holiday Apple Cider
Homemade Apple Dumplings
Apple Pie Filling and Sauce