Asparagus Facts
Some Asparagus Facts Worth Knowing
There are several asparagus facts definitely worth knowing about. Asparagus is an interesting, and fun, plant to grow, and is one of the more nutritious members of the vegetable family. There are several ways to cook or prepare asparagus for the dinner table, plus there are a couple of rather odd facts we'll touch upon.
Asparagus is a member of the lily family. There are both ornamental and edible types. We'll confine this discussion to the edible type. It is a perennial, and once established in the garden, can provide a nice harvest for 15 to 20 years before the plants require replenishment. While a little extra work is required to do the initial planting of the vegetable, once established, it is no more difficult to care for than most other vegetables.
Asparagus is most often planted from root stock; for the simple reason that it takes a year for the roots to grow large enough to sustain a crop. When planted from seed, there is a two year wait, and sometimes a three year wait, for the roots to become established. The young stalks can be harvested, often for quite a few weeks, until they begin to get thin. Then they need to be allowed to grow to their full height, to provide nourishment to the roots for next year's crop. When the stalks are allowed to grow and fan out, the edible asparagus plant becomes a rather nice ornamental plant for the remainder of the growing season.
Among the more important of asparagus facts is that it is one of the most well-balanced vegetables in terms of nutritional value. Asparagus is rich in thiamine, vitamins A, B6, and C, and contains several trace elements important to our well-being. It is an excellent source of potassium and folic acid, both essential for proper cell functioning, and is also a source of rutin, a powerful antioxidant which, besides having healing properties, helps strengthen our capillary walls.
Asparagus can be prepared for the table by baking, steaming, stir-frying, or grilling. The tips can be eaten raw, fitting nicely on a vegetable tray, or used as an ingredient in a salad. Asparagus should not be prepared by boiling, the one exception being when you are making asparagus soup. The water used in boiling should then be used as an ingredient in the soup, since boiling asparagus removes many of the nutrients from the stalk. One of the better ways to prepare asparagus, whether baking or grilling, is to wrap each stalk in bacon.
There are a couple of asparagus facts which are rather odd, though you might find one of them useful. Asparagus compliments most other entries on the dinner table, including meats, chicken, poultry and fish. One item that many believe does not go well with asparagus, is wine. Some believe that asparagus has a tendency to make the other food items on the table taste "green". Green may or may not be a bad taste, but does not seem to be a taste that one would care to have in wine. In any event, some people will not serve wine and asparagus together. You'll have to judge that for yourself.
Finally, in our collection of asparagus facts, we come to the issue of asparagus urine. This is not a typo, or a crude joke. Apparently, asparagus has a property which causes some people's urine to smell badly. Only about half the population seems to suffer from this. Curiously, roughly the same statistic seems to hold for the number of people who can actually detect the smell. This phenomenon has been known for centuries, and while much has been written about it, few actual facts have come to light. Some scientists believe that genetics plays a role, but even that is open to argument. Whether you choose to pursue this further, is up to you.