Asparagus has a lot of valuable vitamins, so it’s worth reaching for them as often as possible. The more that the season is definitely too short! Before preparing meals, it is worth answering how to cook asparagus, through being soft, firm and retained its properties.
Choosing the right asparagus
When buying asparagus, make sure that the asparagus heads are tightly closed and the tips moist. Asparagus should be firm and springy. With fresh asparagus, after squeezing the tip, juice should flow out. Also, rubbing two asparagus against each other, they should characteristically creak.
White asparagus should be medium thick. We should not choose too thin, because we will peel white asparagus from the skin. Too thick are also not good. Thickness is not important for green asparagus. Greens do not need to be peeled, so they can be thin.
How to peel asparagus?
Green asparagus does not require peeling. You only need to cut the woody tip. To do this, you just need to gently bend the stem, and it will break at the place where the phlegmon begins.
Peel the white asparagus from the fibers with a small knife or vegetable peeler. Peel the asparagus, starting from the head and heading towards the end. Cut off the woody ends.
Preparation of asparagus
Asparagus must first be washed and dried.
White asparagus is more fibrous than green and must be peeled (except the heads). Peel the asparagus with an asparagus peeler, a simple vegetable peeler or a small sharp knife without teeth. Peel them from top to bottom, starting under the head. They must be peeled very carefully so that no fibers remain. We cut the hard, woody ends one by one. Approximately 1/3 of the asparagus should be cut from the bottom. With fresh asparagus, it is sometimes enough to cut off about 2 cm, for older up to 5 cm.
How to cook asparagus?
It is best to cook asparagus in a tall, narrow pot, standing up so that the heads protrude above the boiling water. The heads are the most delicate and they will suffice when they become soft under the influence of steam. There are special pots for cooking asparagus. They are just narrow, tall and with a strainer inside for easier asparagus removal from the water. However, they are not necessary. A simple pot is enough, but it is important that it is not aluminum. As a last resort, you can also cook asparagus lying down.
Boil the asparagus in salted water, with a pinch of sugar. You can also add some butter. When cooking asparagus standing up, it is best to additionally tie them loosely with thread so that they stand upright and cook evenly. Cook the asparagus under cover on medium heat. (If you cook the asparagus lying down, then you do not need to cover the pot). The cooking time for green asparagus is shorter than for cooking white. Green asparagus should be boiled for about 10 minutes, and white for about 15 minutes. The cooking time depends on the thickness of the asparagus. It is best to check their softness with a fork. Cooked asparagus should be soft, but cannot fall apart. It’s important not to overcook them.
