1.British asparagus is hailed by leading chefs as the best in the world – the British climate allows asparagus stems to develop slowly producing a full, sweet flavour and a fine, tender texture quite unlike any other crop.
2.British asparagus is only in season for roughly eight weeks in May and June – so buy it while you can.
3.Asparagus not only tastes good, but it does you good too – it contains no fat, cholesterol or sodium and is rich in vitamin C, folic acid, iron and potassium.
4.Asparagus comes from the lily family and can be traced back to the Romans in the 1st century AD.
5.Asparagus is reputed to have aphrodisiac properties – in the notorious erotic work ‘The Perfumed Garden’ written in the 16th century by Shayk al Nefzawi, a daily dish of asparagus, first boiled, then fried in fat with egg yolks and condiments, is recommended as having ‘great erotic effect’.
6.Alongside its aphrodisiac qualities, asparagus is also known as a natural remedy to help relieve indigestion and has also been recommended as a mild sedative.
7.Asparagus comes in green, purple, white or somewhere in-between, with our European neighbours cultivating the white variant.White asparagus is literally grown in the dark, with earth piled up over the spears to prevent it from developing a green colour.
8.If you plan to keep asparagus for a day or two, keep it fresh by placing in a jug or vase with the stems in water, then store (carefully) in the fridge.
9.An asparagus plant has an ‘active’ life of around 15 years – although the oldest plant recorded is 120 years.
10.Japan is the world’s largest importer of asparagus – but they don’t import any UK asparagus because we eat our entire harvest ourselves – we just can’t get enough of it!
