I use the stalks for making asparagus soup. I boil the stalks with celery and onion and then purée that in the FP, strain it through a Chinois, and discard the pulp, although you could put that pulp into your compost. If I want to thicken the soup, I generally add potato starch, and I usually use the asparagus broth to make crab asparagus soup. After making the broth, all I have to add is crab and my Habanero sauce, but you can add red chilies instead. I also add a bit of lobster soup stock instead of salt, but if you do not want to use that, you can just salt to taste, or you can leave the crab out and just have asparagus soup. Alternatively, you can thicken the both a bit more and use it as a sauce on the asparagus. I put the asparagus tips into my crab soup.

I snap and the ends go in the compost.

Lars, that's impressive. I made asparagus soup once using the woody stem ends to make a stock, but haven't done that since.

When I snap asparagus, I usually only lose 1/5th of the stalk unless some of the spears are old. I grab a spear ~in the middle with one hand and grab the bottom with the other and tip the bottom hand upward but away from the middle hand so that the break occurs as low as possible.

Lars, I will keep your method in mind, but I seldom have enough to make much soup.

I peel.

dcarch

I snap. But i hold it to try and force it to snap as low down to the stem end as possible. Save those back into the crisper drawer. A bunch of asparagus gives us 3-5 uses...fritatta, quiche, and sautéed stalks for a side. The lower inch or two on the good useful bit i often slice in fine disc if slightly tough. Never cared much for it peeled. Seems to miss some flavor and cooks weird. Absorbs moisture.

Usually plan a leek, celery, asparagus soup and use the ends in a quick broth, then strain. I've used cauliflower as the thickener but nothing like a small potato.

Pups love it so they get a treat. So expensive i should get it going in the garden again. So much better fresh.

All so different when buying. I like the thick chubbies. And have had some really good thin but never know.

Garden fresh i can barely get it to a stove it is so good raw.

I do snap. But I've found it works best if when you come home, put cold water in a bowl, trim off a bit of the bottom of the stalks. Put the whole bunch in water, like cut flowers. Leave it on the counter, not fridge!!!

Then let it "drink" for at least two hours of up to 3 days. When I'm ready to cook it, usually on the grill, I snap it. I lose a LOT less this way. Seems sometimes at the store or market there's not enough water in the display. If the stalks dry out a bit, they snap a lot higher up.

I cut......I cut at the spot that shows the least resistance....
Where an asparagus spear snaps has something to do with how wilted it is....and slightly wilted asparagus is not tough and woody.
And I also peel.....and buy the thickest stems I can find.

I have an easy alternative, just buy Michigan asparagus, LOL. One of the big selling/advertising sound bites is that it is not cut in the field, it's hand snapped, so it breaks off where it's tender. Funny, though, I still end up breaking off a small amount of the very ends, seldom enough to make soup, but still some, and in spite of the advertising too. (grin)

The fiber is mostly in the outer coating, so peeling it will get rid of the fiber, but like sleevendog, I find the texture to be odd and squishy, and I do have a problem with texture, so I don't eat it that way. I just thought it was me, I didn't know any one else noticed... and I never even knew people peeled asparagus until Cathy/Mustangs sent me an asparagus peeler!

The thicker stalks have more soft inner in ratio to the fibrous outer, and so are actually more tender. The small/narrow spears are from either very young or very old crowns, usually, and are chewier. Like LindaC, I buy the thickest stems I can find.

Asparagus season is just starting here and I haven't picked any of my own yet, but I'm watching it anxiously. I just planted 100 asparagus crowns a few weeks ago, so those can't be picked until next year anyway, and then only judiciously. I did see advertisements this week for "local" asparagus, so that's a sign mine will be up soon.

So, other than soup and/or compost, I don't know of anything else to do with asparagus ends. If they aren't too tough, they can be cut into coins and eaten raw in salad, but if they aren't too tough, I'm usually cooking them anyway...

Annie

OOOOHMichigan asparagus!.....there used to be a truck that would come in the spring and set up shop on a parking lot......I would stock up and pig out. Some people didn't like it because it wasn't all neatly rubber banded into sheaves! But ti was the best!!

I'm a snapper of green and a peeler of white.

I snap one, then cut the rest at the same spot. The ends go into the freezer for whenever I want to make asparagus stock. I've been thinking of making asparagus risotto, which I'd use the ends to make the stock for the risotto.

That being said, now I've learned that there are alternatives to losing so much of the stalk.

Sally

Thats why I won't pay for $3 a pound for asparagus....

$3 per pound is about average for asparagus, if I'm thinking about what it can cost at the farmers markets and when it's a loss leader at grocery stores.

That price doesn't phase me.

Like minipadv said... veggie peeler. Doesn't work so well on skinny/pencil spears, but great on fat ones. I cut maybe half an inch and then peel bottom half... with spears laying FLAT on a cutting board. Have found if you try to peel while holding in air, spear will find that snap point before you get it all peeled.

Remember at one of those "pick your own" places years ago, price difference... as is or snapped. Can't remember exact prices, but say it was $1.99/lb as is. If you wanted to snap it off, it was $2.99/lb. Probably a win-win. Consumer didn't really pay any more for the product. Seller (also farmer??) might have taken all those snapped ends and fed to animals??

I cut maybe half an inch and then peel bottom half... with spears laying FLAT on a cutting board. Have found if you try to peel while holding in air, spear will find that snap point before you get it all peeled.

*****

Yes! Put asparagus on cutting board, peel, roll, peel, roll, peel roll. Each stalk gets 3-4 swipes of the peeler. Really skinny ones I don't bother peeling.

I do the same as Sally, but snap 2 or 3 stalks, then line up the rest of the asparagus with the snapped stalks and cut the rest evenly with the snapped stalks. Snap the 2 - 3 stalks just to see if they snap in the same place, so as not to end up with a woody portion of stalks.

I love asparagus and cook it quite often. Here in CA it's easy to obtain. I'm a snapper, but having just returned from Northern Europe, I discovered white asparagus. I knew of it, but hadn't really enjoyed it until I had it in Germany and the Netherlands. I bought some here at $6.99lb (aacck!). I sautéed it with evoo and a little white wine. Meh... then tonight I simmered it covered until mostly tender. Then I drained the water added salt and pepper. The result was sweet tasting. I won't buy it often, but I will enjoy it a few more times this season.

klseiverd, the pigs might eat it, but even my chickens don't like it very much. The cattle and horses turn up their noses and even the wild deer, turkeys and geese or the darned wild rabbits that chew everything don't touch my asparagus. It's one of the few garden items that is safe from animal predation, along with potato plants.

Here it's currently about $1.59 a pound at the stores, and can be purchased in larger quantities at the farm for about a dollar or a bit more. The problem is that the season is only a handful of weeks long, then the local stuff is gone and the only thing available is the imported stuff from other states. And, of course, that's never as good...

Annie

Annie, I'm glad to know that rabbits won't eat it. That lets me know that I can plant it without worry up in Tahlequah. Thanks.

Sally

Thanks to everyone of you. Good ideas and info. After looking at the photo of asparagus soup, I am craving a bowl of it. Cindy, did you make that? Beautiful.

Lars and others, it hadn't occurred to me to freeze it for stock. Do you double bag it to keep it from taking on a fridge flavor (I store leftover onion halves in my fridge -- probably not wise, even if wrapped).

I also think that a lot of the flavor is in the outer layer/peel. Perhaps more of the nutrients as well.

Yes, dogs enjoy asparagus, so don't show them where the beds are -- it will give a whole new meaning to "U-Pick".

White asparagus -- I've never tried it but have seen it being sold.

I have peelers that will peel various thicknesses -- carrots or butternut squash (which I now tend to just back in the skin after it's been halved)

I bought some asparagus roots, but they were too dried up. If I cannot find any now (late in season), maybe I can start seeds. Anyone ever try that? I would think that they'd make roots quickly -- like planting dahlias from seed.

When some grocery store sell asparagus that is sitting on end in water, I always cross my fingers that their soaking water is clean ;) (what goes up, must come down - the hatch).

I do love white asparagus, and after having it served with a grapefruit beurre blanc, make it that way myself. The only problem, besides the cost, is the almost immediate smell exiting ;-)

Asp Pee ree gus

When my kids were babies, they made a strained asparagus....stinky diapers!

I think I'm genetically able to both produce and smell it with gusto.

OK, I was going to restrain myself, but now that others have brought the smell issue up: a couple years ago I posted a thread on the possibility that a tea including mint might be a way to cancel that smell. My curiosity continued, and while I am the only research subject, I suspect that it is black tea that may be helping reduce or eliminate the smell if consumed directly after a dinner of asparagus. At least for myself, a cup of black tea usually blocks or at least greatly deminishes the smell. However, it is still possible that a cup of hot water might also work, and I keep forgetting to check that out a couple times before being sure that it is just the black tea.

Everyone produces....it's a by product of asparagus....but some people can't detect the odor. I suspect any diminishing of odor is in your nose.

starsplitter, none of my dogs will touch asparagus either. None of them seem to be vegetable eaters, LOL. Only Molly, my shelter rescue/Sheltie cross will eat carrots they will all three eat green beans and peas, raw or cooked, none of them will touch cauliflower or parsnips but they all will eat potatoes, sweet potatoes and butternut squash. None of them like tomatoes. I think they're like people, they all like different things!

So, those 100 asparagus crowns growing behind the house here? Nothing has touched a single one of them. I have an old established bed of asparagus next to our pond where the deer drink and it's quite a way from the house, but nothing touches that either. I just snapped the first three spears today, in fact.

I do know a couple of people who have grown asparagus from seed, and it did well, but it takes an extra year before you can pick it. My first year crowns can be picked "judiciously" next year, then picked completely the following year. Seeds take another year, but it's a whole lot cheaper to grow them!

Annie

FYI, if gophers are a problem in your area, they will eat asparagus. I did one variety of asparagus from seeds and it has definitely been a test of patience waiting for them to do grow well enough to harvest, but it was definitely the cheap way of getting some going. It is too late now, but I have had fair luck with asparagus roots purchased at Wal-Mart's garden center.

Around here we have "ditch asparagus" Wild asparagus growing in the ditch. Wild seeds....and those who live near a stand tell the county not to spray.
Nothing eats asparagus....but people. or there would never be wild asparagus growing in the ditch. And it grows easily and well from seed.....that's how ditch asparagus came to be....but it takes another year to be able to pick.....but you don't have to dig a 6 inch deep trench!

I generally do not freeze leftover asparagus stems for stock - I usually use them right away, but if I were to freeze them, I would wrap them in freezer paper and then store them in a vacuum sealed foodsaver bag.

If anyone is interested in buying cheaper asparagus crowns in bulk, here's where I got mine. I got 100 crowns for $56 plus shipping and I've gotten probably 90% survival rate on them, maybe more. I'm very satisfied with their service and the quality of their product.

http://daisyfarms.net/asparagus.html

Annie

I get it fresh from the farm in the spring. I line the spears up, in a bunch, on the cutting board and slam down my biggest knife, cuts them all at once and it's very satisfying.

I roast mine, with oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Even the kids like it.

And I throw the stems out into the woods behind the house.

Annie, I'm somewhat tempted; but isn't it late to get/plant roots? Not sure that I've got space now. What variety were you looking at?

starsplitter, I bought the Jersey Giant because it's disease resistant and grows well in cooler climates. Like here in Michigan!

I think you could still plant it and be OK. You just let the ferns grow this year, you can't pick any of them anyway, and they feed the crowns. Next year you can pick "judiciously", and the following year, pick to your heart's content.

So, I think you could still plant, because you aren't going to pick them this year anyway. Mine are growing like crazy, if they survive the winter, I'm planting 100 more next year.

Annie