I've just got back home after a week on holiday and the asparagus has
put up lots of shoots, some of which are too large to crop to eat.
Should the larger shoots (a foot hight) be cut off or just left to grow?
Will leaving them reduce the number of new edible tips?
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

On Apr 27, 9:28*pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
I've just got back home after a week on holiday and the asparagus has
put up lots of shoots, some of which are too large to crop to eat.
Should the larger shoots (a foot hight) be cut off or just left to grow?
Will leaving them reduce the number of new edible tips?
--
David in Normandy. *
* *To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
* *subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
* *by a filter and not reach my inbox.

In Norfolk we used to grow asparagus; cut the shoots off now even
though they are too large to eat (are the tips too large?) Don't let
them to to seed just yet.

Judith

On Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:20:50 -0700 (PDT), Judith in France
wrote:

cut the shoots off now even
though they are too large to eat (are the tips too large?) Don't let
them to to seed just yet.

I have a row of asparagus and although I'm doing as you say above, I'm
wondering about the odd very small thin shoots? I'm guessing they come
from new self seeded plants and should be left? What do you think?

Judith in France wrote:
On Apr 27, 9:28 pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
I've just got back home after a week on holiday and the asparagus has
put up lots of shoots, some of which are too large to crop to eat.
Should the larger shoots (a foot hight) be cut off or just left to grow?
Will leaving them reduce the number of new edible tips?
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

In Norfolk we used to grow asparagus; cut the shoots off now even
though they are too large to eat (are the tips too large?) Don't let
them to to seed just yet.

Judith

Thanks, I'll cut off the tall shoots. This is our first year harvesting
them after planting them nearly four years ago. The first ones harvested
yesterday were mostly a little tough and stringy. They are very thick
shoots - up to nearly an inch diameter, I've not seen them that wide on
the market. I don't know if it is down to the variety or what. We
steamed them for approx 10 minutes.

Should they be peeled?

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:40:55 +0200, David in Normandy
wrote:

up to nearly an inch diameter, I've not seen them that wide on
the market. I don't know if it is down to the variety or what. We
steamed them for approx 10 minutes.

Should they be peeled?

an inch!!! You normally need to peel blanched white ones, the Spanish
style. Green I don't need to. I just snap them off where they
naturally want to snap, leaving the hard lower part discarded. (Your
ones may be extra hard because they overgrew while you were away). for
my weedy small ones 6 minutes in the asparagus steamer is fine (bases
in boiling water, tips in steam).
"http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meyer-Professional-Healthy-Asparagus-Steamer/dp/B0000AKLM5"

you need a rubber band to hold the spears upright in the steamer
unless it is full.
--
Mike

David in Normandy writes

Thanks, I'll cut off the tall shoots. This is our first year harvesting
them after planting them nearly four years ago. The first ones
harvested yesterday were mostly a little tough and stringy. They are
very thick shoots - up to nearly an inch diameter, I've not seen them
that wide on the market. I don't know if it is down to the variety or
what. We steamed them for approx 10 minutes.

Should they be peeled?

They tend to be tender at the tips and tough-skinned at the base. You
shouldn't peel them. The usual way to eat is to nibble down as far as
they are tender, use your teeth to get a bit of the soft inside where
they start to get tough, and abandon the rest.

What I usually do is cut the bottom inch or so off and drop them in the
pan, then cut the stems in half, put the lower half into the pan and
just cover with boiling water (or use even less water), and lay the top
halves on top so they are merely steamed. I serve everyone with an equal
number of bottom and top halves. Most of the bottom half can be eaten,
and the whole of the top half, and doing it like this means I can eat
the bottom halves first then savour the tips.

The water they've cooked in can be used as the basis for soup together
with the bottom inches. If I feel I have time, I peel the bottom inches
that I've cut off (usually after cooking, so the taste from the peel has
already gone into the water) and the middles can stay in the soup.
Otherwise, I simply discard these pieces after cooking.
--
Kay

K wrote:
David in Normandy writes

Thanks, I'll cut off the tall shoots. This is our first year
harvesting them after planting them nearly four years ago. The first
ones harvested yesterday were mostly a little tough and stringy. They
are very thick shoots - up to nearly an inch diameter, I've not seen
them that wide on the market. I don't know if it is down to the
variety or what. We steamed them for approx 10 minutes.

Should they be peeled?

They tend to be tender at the tips and tough-skinned at the base. You
shouldn't peel them. The usual way to eat is to nibble down as far as
they are tender, use your teeth to get a bit of the soft inside where
they start to get tough, and abandon the rest.

What I usually do is cut the bottom inch or so off and drop them in the
pan, then cut the stems in half, put the lower half into the pan and
just cover with boiling water (or use even less water), and lay the top
halves on top so they are merely steamed. I serve everyone with an equal
number of bottom and top halves. Most of the bottom half can be eaten,
and the whole of the top half, and doing it like this means I can eat
the bottom halves first then savour the tips.

The water they've cooked in can be used as the basis for soup together
with the bottom inches. If I feel I have time, I peel the bottom inches
that I've cut off (usually after cooking, so the taste from the peel has
already gone into the water) and the middles can stay in the soup.
Otherwise, I simply discard these pieces after cooking.

Thanks for the detailed information. :-)

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:10:37 +0100, K wrote:

The water they've cooked in can be used as the basis for soup together
with the bottom inches. If I feel I have time, I peel the bottom inches
that I've cut off (usually after cooking, so the taste from the peel has
already gone into the water) and the middles can stay in the soup.
Otherwise, I simply discard these pieces after cooking.

I tried deep frying the bottom inches once. Most turned into a chip
like crispy but some of them were still too tough to eat.

Steve

In message , Stephen
Wolstenholme writes
On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:10:37 +0100, K wrote:

The water they've cooked in can be used as the basis for soup together
with the bottom inches. If I feel I have time, I peel the bottom inches
that I've cut off (usually after cooking, so the taste from the peel has
already gone into the water) and the middles can stay in the soup.
Otherwise, I simply discard these pieces after cooking.

I tried deep frying the bottom inches once. Most turned into a chip
like crispy but some of them were still too tough to eat.

Steve

As an alternative to steaming they are nice baked/roasted.

Lay in a dish, a bit of butter, or drizzle of olive oil and stick in
the oven for a bit.
--
Chris French

??Asparagus soup

On 2009-04-27 22:20:50 +0100, Judith in France
said:

On Apr 27, 9:28*pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
I've just got back home after a week on holiday and the asparagus has
put up lots of shoots, some of which are too large to crop to eat.
Should the larger shoots (a foot hight) be cut off or just left to grow?
Will leaving them reduce the number of new edible tips?
--
David in Normandy. *
* *To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
* *subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
* *by a filter and not reach my inbox.

In Norfolk we used to grow asparagus; cut the shoots off now even
though they are too large to eat (are the tips too large?) Don't let
them to to seed just yet.

OK for established plants but for plants in their 2nd and 3rd years
(assuming they were planted as 1-year-old crowns), leave unharvested
spears alone until they form frothy heads which can be cut down in
autumn.

On May 12, 2:51*am, Stan The Man wrote:
On 2009-04-27 22:20:50 +0100, Judith in France
said:

On Apr 27, 9:28*pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
I've just got back home after a week on holiday and theasparagushas
put up lots of shoots, some of which are too large to crop to eat.
Should the larger shoots (a foot hight) be cut off or just left to grow?
Will leaving them reduce the number of new edible tips?
--
David in Normandy. *
* *To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
* *subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
* *by a filter and not reach my inbox.

In Norfolk we used to growasparagus; cut the shoots off now even
though they are too large to eat (are the tips too large?) *Don't let
them to to seed just yet.

OK for established plants but for plants in their 2nd and 3rd years
(assuming they were planted as 1-year-old crowns), leave unharvested
spears alone until they form frothy heads which can be cut down in
autumn.

Hi!

I'm writing my blog about asparagus and maybe you can find some useful
tips here http://www.asparagusgrowing.net/