I love September for the new season Aussie asparagus. At Harris Farm we start this just as early as we can, although it is far dearer at first than the imported product (only for a week or so until supply catches up with demand) the taste is just so much better. This is not all that surprising as I would say that on average the Aussie product is around two weeks fresher than the imports. So apart from wanting to support Aussie farmers I would suggest that for your own benefit you only buy Australian asparagus from now on for probably the next three months. No white or purple yet but beautiful baby, standard and Grande asparagus in all our stores this week, all Australian and all well priced. We cooked the thick stemmed Grande last night, I know people are wary of thick asparagus, but it was absolutely superb. It looks dear at first glance but this product is double the size of the normal bunch. So it is a little dearer but not that much. At the farm on the weekend we ate imperfect asparagus. It was a horrible yellow colour, twisted, odd shaped but guess what, also superb to eat. You cannot go wrong with Aussie asparagus at this time of the year.
HOW TO PICK
Look for bright spears with compact tips. Avoid any that look limp or discoloured. When you snap freshly harvested asparagus, it should be crisp, moist and juicy.
HOW TO STORE
If not eating straight away, wrap it in a damp tea towel, pop in a plastic bag and store in the crisper compartment of your fridge. To keep asparagus fresh for longer, trim the ends and stand in a glass with 1-2cm of water. Loosely cover with a plastic bag and store in fridge.
