How to peel asparagus?

White and green asparagus, although available for a short time, are tasty and very useful in the menu. However, preparation requires proper handling. This begins with efficient peeling. It may seem easy, but a little practice will go a long way. Here are some good ways.

Why eat asparagus?

To begin with, the most banal argument in favour of eating asparagus is that the white and green vegetable can be a great decoration on your plate in spring. Not only interesting appearance is their advantage – we appreciate them for their low calorie content. Due to this feature they can be eaten by people who just want to lose weight

It is estimated that in 100 g of the product there are only 18 calories. They also provide the body with valuable vitamins and minerals. Asparagus cream or asparagus tart can be an interesting element in the menu. There are three types of asparagus:

• White – the most popular variety in Poland, which, however, requires careful processing; their color is related to underground growth, through which they cannot produce dye. They are delicate and mild in taste but harder in texture. In Poland they are grown in the Wielkopolska region
• They are the thinnestof all, but have a wonderful aroma and strong flavor. They are valued for the highest level of beneficial substances and vitamins, including magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and calcium.
• Violets – endowed with a thick stem, they grow just above the surface of the ground. Grown rarely because of the need to harvest quickly before they turn green. Most popular in Italy and Great Britain.

When is asparagus season?

The harvest time for these tasty vegetables is very short. Most often it starts in mid-April and lasts until mid-May at the most. So you should hurry up with preparing it or preserving it, for example by freezing.

What is the difficulty in preparing asparagus?

First of all, asparagus must be fresh. Any of the three varieties; green, white or the exquisite purple, will be tastiest immediately after harvesting. This is checked both visually and by breaking the vegetable and seeing if it is gushing juice

The stems should be free of discoloration and firm, while the heads should be strong and compact. For many people who have never had contact with this wonderful vegetable before, asparagus can be difficult to peel and prepare

Peeling asparagus: white versus green

When it comes to asparagus, peeling depends on the color variety. For sure, if you have white asparagus you will need to do some pre-treating. With green asparagus it is a bit more complicated. The most important thing is that they are fresh and thin. In this case, you can skip peeling, because the vegetables are soft and friendly to cooking. When processing them, you need to pay special attention to thorough washing. This is especially true of the head, which often hides sand. Green asparagus should be peeled when it is thick and clearly slightly woody, with a delicate white tinge

How do I peel white asparagus?

Peeling white asparagus is not a difficult task, but there are a few rules to follow. After buying the vegetables, remove them from the box and place them on a cutting board. Cut off the ends; preferably at ¼ asparagus height. For further processing, you can use a vegetable scraper. Holding the vegetable in your hand, peel off the tough fibers and skin. Only the asparagus head should be left unpeeled. Interestingly, many people do not want to throw away the peel and the woody parts of the asparagus because they continue to use them for cooking. The main idea is to cook them into an aromatic broth. This, in turn, can become a base for other dishes.

How to cook asparagus?

Cooking asparagus after peeling is a relatively easy task. Asparagus should be boiled for 5-6 minutes in a small amount of water with a teaspoon of sugar. A good way is to cook the vegetables in bunches, so that the heads stick out above the water level. Their peculiarity is that they cook faster, so this way allows you to cook the vegetable evenly