Asparagus is a perennial plant that has been used for gastronomic and medicinal purposes since BC. Today, this dessert vegetable is also popular, especially among gourmets. Asparagus is prized for its nutritional properties, unique taste and aroma, and original appearance.
Instructions
Step 1
Today, there are almost 200 species of asparagus on earth, or, as this plant is also called, asparagus. Some of them are herbs, such as medicinal asparagus, while others are shrubs with powerful rhizomes and ground fleshy stems.
Step 2
Medicinal asparagus is the most common variety of this plant in Europe. It is used for medicinal purposes, eaten or simply planted as an ornamental plant. It has terrestrial stems, the branches of which are seated with needle-shaped leaves gathered in bunches. The flowers of this asparagus are found in the axils of the leaves and are usually white. The fruits are red berries of a round shape and small size.
Step 3
For gastronomic purposes, exclusively young white or green asparagus stalks are used. They differ from each other not only in shade, but also in taste and aroma. Most often, green asparagus is served on the table, which has a pleasant taste and is affordable for almost everyone. The stalks of green asparagus are smooth, at their ends you can see scaly and soft-structured modified leaves. It is the ends of the stem, which are distinguished by their special juiciness and tenderness, are used for food.
Step 4
White asparagus is famous for its more delicate taste, but due to the short growing period and more laborious harvesting, its cost is much higher. The color of this asparagus is due to the fact that it grows underground. For the same reason, there are no fleshy leaves characteristic of green asparagus at the ends of its stems. In addition, due to its growth underground, white asparagus lacks some of the vitamins that are produced by sunlight. This is why it is considered to be less useful than green.
Step 5
Another rare variety of asparagus, purple, is also eaten. True, this plant has such an interesting shade only on the outside - inside the stem retains juicy greens. And its shape is practically no different from its green counterpart. When cooked, this asparagus turns green. This variety has a specific flavor with a slight bitterness, therefore it requires more delicate cooking and certain additional ingredients.
Step 6
In order to preserve the unique appearance of asparagus, its unique taste and the large amount of nutrients it contains, it is not customary to subject it to prolonged heat treatment. As a rule, it is enough to keep the stems of this plant in boiling water for 5 minutes, and they should be placed in a saucepan in such a way that the delicate tips are not in the water, but stick out of it, softening under the action of steam. After cooking, it is recommended to immerse them in ice water for a second. It is believed that properly cooked asparagus should crunch a little when bitten.
