The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-02-12

Relation to the Famous Asphodel-The
seeds Used For Coffee.
As ticker of the palate asparagus
has come down the ages with all the
weight of Greek and Roman approval.
Plato ate it by the platetul, and Arts
tophanes, the humorist, regarded 1t as
great aid in digesting the crank phi
losophers of the day.
1t is an odd fact that this culinary
plant is closely related to the famous
asl hodcl, which was supposed by the
ancicnts to be the leading flower i'll the
gardens of the elysium the Greek pur-
gatory or paradise. a part of the
quaintness of this lies in the fact that
the roots both possess purgative quail
ties. The roots and fruit of both were
formerly much used i'll medicine for
this purpose
According to the superstition of the
Romans, the names of the dead fed ON
the roots OF the asphodeL They planted
it, therefore, i'll and around the Gene
teries. Hence to this day it covers with
its beautiful golden blossoms as profuse-
ly as dandelions the Apulian hills and
valleys, and the sheep feed on it greed
lily.
it belongs to the same natural order
of perennials, and the only difference
between the asparagus and the asphodel
appears to be in the fruit and the color
Of the flowers SO abundant is the wild
asparagus in the stcppes of Russia that
cattle eat it like grass, just us Italian
sheep devour its botanical cousin.
Not native to America, it has mere,
however, been raised to its greatest per-
lection us table delicacy. Perhaps no
other plant gives as good proof of what
cultivation can do. In its wild state it
rarely grows higher than a foot or thick
er than slate pencil. Culture has mul
tiplied its height by four and its thick
ness nearly as much, adding also to its
tayor-not, however, to its value as
food, for it still possesses very little nu-
tritive substance.
1t was once regarded as garden or
nament in this country, and in New
England rural places especially was used
in making up bouquets. Dried speci-
mems can still be found in Maine and
Massachusetts parlors. Nor is this,
which would strike those who know it
only to eat it, as curious old fashioned
taste, without good foundation from
an artistic point of view, for the full
grown plant is remarkable for its deli
cate elegance. 1t has many branches
| loaded with fine, threadlike leaves and
small bell shaped flowers of a greenish
! yellow luster.'
| Its responsiveness is also remarkable,
and it has lent itself to modern humor
as it did to ancient. One of the most de-
licious passages of Charles Dudley War
ners MY Summer In Garden" tells
of his planting it, leaving it alone for
awhile and coming back to find that it
had overrun everything and threatened
to turn his place into an asparagus grove.
The methods of cultivation and cut
ting of the young and tender shoots foI
market before ramification differ very
little here and abroad except as to time.
Here it is generally not cut for the first
two years. Abroad it is often allowed
to grow three or four. The life of plan,
properly cut and tended is dozen years.
The beds are generally A feet broad
with trenches 2 y feet deep for the ma
nuring The plants are usually arranged
from to 10 inches apart, and the clus
ter of heads that grows from each roo
: is cut from little below the surface OF
the soil.
Asparagus possesses, in common with
aSphodel and some score of related
plants, a very peculiar crystalline chem
ical called asparagine, and an extract
of the shoots and roots is still admins,
tered occasionally in dropsies as a diu.
retic, and also as a lithic to dissolve
calculi in the bladder. 1t seems to be
unquestiOnably stimulus to digestion
and is probably one of the most whole
some adjuncts of a dinner.
The seeds i'll some parts of southern
Europe are dried and used as a substi
tute for coffee, which may yet CONT
into fashion here. A wild variety il
Spain and Portugal is considered tn,
crown of salad, having a pleasant bit
ter taste that gives not only FLIP t.
the tongue, but also to the appetite
The amount raised in Staten Island ant
in Jersey for the New York market in
creases markedly every year, and thu
quality seems to keep pace with thu
quantity.
The ways of cooking and serving i
are likewise on the increase Asparagus
on toast, asparagus salads, asparagu
patties, sauces and even soups, plaiI
and in combination with many othel
vegetables, indicate by their variety
the favor it has attained.
A very common mistake, however
that is made in preparing it is to cool
it whole. After being delicatel,
washed, it should be cut in half, ant
the lowest part should be cooked fol
three-quarters of an hour Then ado
the tops and cook for 10 or 10 minutes
By this method both parts become jus
right. The stalk is tender throughout
and the tops do not fall all to pieces.
So called Prussian asparagus, an al
lied plant, of which the spikes are eat
en- in some places, is not wholesome
and canned asparagus seems to lack no
only flavor, but the medicinal virtues
of the fresh. New York World.