IOWA FALLS, Iowa — A sure sign of spring is the emergence of the asparagus spears in the home garden or at the grocery store. Asparagus is a perennial favorite when it comes to spring vegetables. With its dark green color, asparagus is rich in vitamins A & B6, calcium, magnesium and zinc. Since it is 93% water, asparagus is low in calories, providing about 30 calories per cup. Asparagus is very low in sodium and is a very good source of dietary fiber.
To enjoy asparagus year-round, you can preserve it for later use by freezing, canning, pickling or drying. The technique you choose will depend upon the later intended use. For the fresh-from-the-garden flavor, freezing is ideal. To freeze, select young tender spears, wash thoroughly and sort into sizes. Trim stalks by removing scales with a sharp knife and cut into even lengths to fit your freezer containers. For home freezing, the most satisfactory way to heat all vegetables is in boiling water. Use a blancher which has a blanching basket and cover, or fit a wire basket into a large pot with a lid. Use one gallon water per pound of prepared vegetables. Put the vegetable in a blanching basket and lower into vigorously boiling water. Place a lid on the blancher. The water should return to boiling within 1 minute, or you are using too much vegetable for the amount of boiling water. Start counting blanching time as soon as the water returns to a boil. Keep heat high for the time given in the directions for the vegetable you are freezing. Water blanch small spears 2 minutes, medium spears 3 minutes and large spears 4 minutes. Cool promptly in an ice bath, drain and package, leaving no headspace. Seal, label and freeze.
Want to learn how to freeze your summer garden bounty? Register for our online classes and hands-on workshops. Check out our Preserve the Taste of Summer program at: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/preserve-taste-summer
Produce Basics will assist you with choosing, storing, preparing asparagus as well as recipes. Check them out at: https://spendsmart.extension.iastate.edu/produce-item/asparagus/
More tips on asparagus are shared on the AnswerLine blog: https://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/answerline/2018/05/07/asparagus-tips/
Enjoy!!
— Holly VanHeel, ISU Extension Nutrition & Wellness Specialist
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