drawings and text by marguerita
While the volcano rages in anger, maybe the Earth also has feelings, which Man tries to ignore ....I noticed some info about Aspargus .
velocius quam asparagi coquuntur "faster than asparagus is cooked"--was a proverb with Romans,
to which our "done in a jiffy" closely corresponds.
| The shoots, whether wild or cultivated, are succulent, and contain wax, albumen, acetate of potash, phosphate of potash, mannite, a green resin, and a fixed principle named "asparagin" ." This asparagin stimulates the kidneys, and imparts a peculiar, strong smell to the urine after taking the shoots; at the same time, |
the green resin with which the asparagin is combined, exercises gently sedative effects on the heart, calming palpitation, or nervous excitement of that organ.
Though not producing actual sugar in the urine, asparagus forms and excretes a substance therein which answers to the reactions used by physicians for detecting sugar, except the fermentation test.
It may fairly be given in diabetes with a promise of useful results.
In Russia it is a domestic medicine for the arrest of flooding.
Varieties
Gijnlim is an all-male hybrid producing plenty of mid-sized spears (the female plant's shoots tend to be smaller), and it and the older Connover's Colossal variety have both been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit. Mary Washington is another well-regarded old variety which can be male or female, giving the lucky grower a range of differently sized spears. Click here for more information on growing your own asparagus.
How to buy / what to look for
Good, firm, springy spears of an even colour and tightly furled buds. A bunch of similarly sized examples will be easier to cook consistently.
Nutrition
Famously diuretic, asparagus is often ascribed the overused status of 'superfood'. It does contain useful quantities of a list of beneficial substances as long as your arm, including vitamins B6, A and C, calcium, magnesium, folic acid, iron, zinc and dietary fibre.
Harvested
Late April to the end of June. Or thereabouts.
Storage
Don't - eat what you've got and buy more while you still can. If needs must, wrap the cut ends in a damp cloth or seal the whole bunch in a plastic bag and store in the fridge. The spears should stay fresh for three days, and if you can wait that long to eat them you'll be doing well.
Basic cooking
Rinse thoroughly to remove any sandy growing medium lurking in the folds of the tips. To find the point at which the tender part of the spear meets the woodier section, grasp the cut end in one hand and hold the spear about halfway up with the other, and bend it until it snaps. To minimise waste, if you have a food processor you can sauté the ends in butter, whizz them into a paste and add it to asparagus risotto, and Sonya Kidney recommends peeling ends and cooking the whole spear. Steam the spears or plunge them into boiling salted water for 4 minutes or more until the thickest part of the stem is tender. Bear in mind that the fresher it is, the less cooking it needs.http://www.guardian.co.
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