From Saturday, May 19 through Tuesday, May 22, selected items in our extensive inventory are on sale. I am passionate about asparagus and crave it at this time of the year from tight tip to slender stalk. I go for it whether sauteed quickly and drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil, bathed in butter or languishing in hollandaise. A member of the lily family, asparagus always seems to provoke strong feelings in food lovers. It may start with the colour.
White asparagus is grown completely underground to keep it from turning green.
There is also a beautiful purple variety of asparagus called viola . But for most of us, asparagus is green whether we choose those big hefty, thick stems or the pencil-thin skinnies that cook so quickly. She always chose the fattest stalks she could find, barely trimmed them, splashed them with boiling water and cooked them with a bit of salt until quite soft. Some say slender is better and that, rather than cutting, each spear should be snapped off midway up the stalk, at the point where it gives most easily. Discarded bits can be packed in containers and frozen for use in stocks and the like.