You know that warmer weather is on the way when British asparagus starts to appear on the shelves of our grocers and the menus of our favourite restaurants.
Traditionally, asparagus season begins on 23 April – St George's Day – but you may already see some of these delicious green spears sneaking onto your plate.
Asparagus is a labour of love, harvested by hand when the spears are just the right height.
The British asparagus season lasts for about eight weeks.
The plant can grow up to 10cm in a single day and thrives in cool, crisp Spring weather; not too wet, not too dry. 2021 is a perfect year!
It's rich in vitamins C and K so its not only tasty but also great for your immune system.
White asparagus is popular in Europe. It's exactly the same as the green asparagus we are accustomed to in Britain but is picked before the spears peek through the soil. As the plant hasn't seen sunlight, chlorophyll doesn't develop making white asparagus sweeter, softer... and, well, white!
In terms of preparation, asparagus is incredibly flexible: it can be grilled (6-8 minutes), boiled (3-4 minutes), steamed (2-5 minutes), roasted (5-10 minutes), or BBQ-ed (5-8 minutes). Check out oodles of asparagus recipe ideas on the British asparagus growers website.
Asparagus is famous for giving some people smelly wee... check out this story on the BBC website for the science behind it.
Buy Sussex grown asparagus from South Brockwells Farm near Uckfield in East Sussex.