# Asparagus Debacle



## SharonT (Apr 13, 2009)

I had all the components ready for a fabulous asparagus salad ready today... toasted walnuts, boiled egg whites and egg yolks, feta cheese, and vinaigrette made with scallions, white wine vinegar and walnut oil.... then I cooked the asparagus - and in only 4 minutes the veg had cooked to a pulpy mess.  I have cooked asparagus many, many times and have never had this happen.  It looked fresh enough, though the tips were a _little _droopier than I would have liked, but it went from that to a slimy mess in 4 minutes.  Can you ken it?


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## PattY1 (Apr 13, 2009)

SharonT said:


> I had all the components ready for a fabulous asparagus salad ready today... toasted walnuts, boiled egg whites and egg yolks, feta cheese, and vinaigrette made with scallions, white wine vinegar and walnut oil.... then I cooked the asparagus - and in only 4 minutes the veg had cooked to a pulpy mess. I have cooked asparagus many, many times and have never had this happen. It looked fresh enough, though the tips were a _little _droopier than I would have liked, but it went from that to a slimy mess in 4 minutes. Can you ken it?


 

????????


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## msmofet (Apr 13, 2009)

also ??????????? on KEN


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## Lynan (Apr 13, 2009)

Thats real Scottish talk for 'understand'......lolol. So #1 must be a wee Scots lass??


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## msmofet (Apr 13, 2009)

Lynan said:


> Thats real Scottish talk for 'understand'......lolol. So #1 must be a wee Scots lass??


 aha thank you for the 411.


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## msmofet (Apr 13, 2009)

SharonT said:


> I had all the components ready for a fabulous asparagus salad ready today... toasted walnuts, boiled egg whites and egg yolks, feta cheese, and vinaigrette made with scallions, white wine vinegar and walnut oil.... then I cooked the asparagus - and in only 4 minutes the veg had cooked to a pulpy mess. I have cooked asparagus many, many times and have never had this happen. It looked fresh enough, though the tips were a _little _droopier than I would have liked, but it went from that to a slimy mess in 4 minutes. Can you ken it?


 were they fresh? if so did you store them in the back of the frig? i ask because some parts of the back of my shelves freeze things, which is cool for beverages (i took out an up-rite soda and it had ice in it like a slushy), but not so good for veggies. i cooked my fresh asparagus for 7 minutes and it was perfect. sorry i can't be of more help.


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## jennyema (Apr 13, 2009)

4 minutes seems like a very long time to cook fresh asparagus.

I cook mine for a minute, maybe.


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## msmofet (Apr 13, 2009)

jennyema said:


> 4 minutes seems like a very long time to cook fresh asparagus.
> 
> I cook mine for a minute, maybe.


really? i simmer mine 7 minutes and they are bright and crisp.







but these were the thick ones. the really thin ones i simmer about 3 mintutes.


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## SharonT (Apr 13, 2009)

jennyema said:


> 4 minutes seems like a very long time to cook fresh asparagus.
> 
> I cook mine for a minute, maybe.


 
Yes, it depends on the size of the spears and the use, I think.  I usually roast asparagus for about 7 minutes and steam it for 4 minutes or under.  The 4-minute timer hadn't sounded... it seemed that I turned my back and the stuff went all slimy and mushy - not just a little overcooked, but completely unusable.  It wasn't frozen, even a little bit.  It's a mystery.


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## Constance (Apr 13, 2009)

If you put your asparagus in a glass of water like a bouquet of posies, it will not get limp like that.


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## msmofet (Apr 13, 2009)

Constance said:


> If you put your asparagus in a glass of water like a bouquet of posies, it will not get limp like that.


 that also works well for celery, brings it back to life.


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## GB (Apr 13, 2009)

Constance said:


> If you put your asparagus in a glass of water like a bouquet of posies, it will not get limp like that.


And they continue to grow like this as well.


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## SharonT (Apr 13, 2009)

GB said:


> And they continue to grow like this as well.


 


Constance said:


> If you put your asparagus in a glass of water like a bouquet of posies, it will not get limp like that.


 
Yes, that's how it was stored.  And it wasn't really _limp_... just the ends were starting to droop over a bit on some of the spears.  The asparagus was purchased on Saturday.

I forgot to add this:  On Thursday I steamed asaparagus as part of a dinner for 150 people.  It came from the same source (Costco) and it was stored for two days in the refrigerator (not in glasses of water).  I think it was in the pots 4 or 5 minutes, and it was perfectly crisp-tender.  

I wish I had taken a photo of the mess.  The outer part of the spears just sloughed away as I got them out of the pan.  

Could too much salt in the water cause this?


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## Callisto in NC (Apr 13, 2009)

Constance said:


> If you put your asparagus in a glass of water like a bouquet of posies, it will not get limp like that.


I want to try asparagus, never have had it, would you do this in the fridge or on the counter?


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## GB (Apr 13, 2009)

Callisto in NC said:


> I want to try asparagus, never have had it, would you do this in the fridge or on the counter?


Either is fine.


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## GrillingFool (Apr 13, 2009)

Asparagus is excellent raw. That's how I'd serve it in a salad.


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## SharonT (Apr 13, 2009)

GrillingFool said:


> Asparagus is excellent raw. That's how I'd serve it in a salad.


I like it raw and barely blanched also, but for this salad it needs to be a little tender.
http://www.discusscooking.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=1222&c=5


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## PattY1 (Apr 13, 2009)

Lynan said:


> Thats real Scottish talk for 'understand'......lolol. So #1 must be a wee Scots lass??


 
Thank you for the explanation.

I like my asparagus cooked, not tender crisp, not mush. Cooked.


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## Scotch (Apr 13, 2009)

I also put the spears in a glass of water to crisp them up for an hour or so before cooking -- but be sure to cut off the dried-out ends first. 

My wife told me that she complained to the manager at the local market that the asparagus was not standing in water to keep it fresh. Surprisingly, he said that other customers had complained when it WAS in water because they said that made the asparagus heavier and thus more costly! Go figure! 

Anyway, I usually steam asparagus, and it takes about 3 to 5 minutes once the water comes to a boil. Grilling takes 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the heat of the fire and the thickness of the spears. 

Back to your question -- I've recently found that the tips of the spears are sometimes rotten, even in the store, especially if they've been bumped hard. Rotten asparagus has a terrible smell, especially when cooked. So now in addition to inspecting the spears visually, I always smell the tips. If they're bad, you'll know it immediately.


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## SharonT (Apr 13, 2009)

Scotch said:


> I also put the spears in a glass of water to crisp them up for an hour or so before cooking -- but be sure to cut off the dried-out ends first.
> 
> Back to your question -- I've recently found that the tips of the spears are sometimes rotten, even in the store, especially if they've been bumped hard. Rotten asparagus has a terrible smell, especially when cooked. So now in addition to inspecting the spears visually, I always smell the tips. If they're bad, you'll know it immediately.


 
That's all good advice.   
A cooking buddy at the church kitchen today said that the asparagus may have frozen "in the field."   The appearance of it would have been okay, but that might explain the total deterioration with very little cooking.  Maybe?


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## Callisto in NC (Apr 13, 2009)

SharonT said:


> That's all good advice.
> A cooking buddy at the church kitchen today said that the asparagus may have frozen "in the field."   The appearance of it would have been okay, but that might explain the total deterioration with very little cooking.  Maybe?


By "frozen in the field" did he mean on purpose or naturally because of the harsh weather we are having this year?  Fresh produce should never be frozen in the field unless it's done by nature.


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## bethzaring (Apr 13, 2009)

SharonT said:


> That's all good advice.
> A cooking buddy at the church kitchen today said that the asparagus may have *frozen "in the field*." The appearance of it would have been okay, but that might explain the total deterioration with very little cooking. Maybe?


 
That is the first thing I have read here that makes any sense.  If it was frozen in the field, it would have turned a darker green than normal.  Did you notice it being a dark green?  Freezing definitely will make it cook faster than normal.

I also store my asparagus in a container in water the fridge.  But in the 35 years I have been raising and storing asparagus, it has never "grown" after it was harvested


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## SharonT (Apr 13, 2009)

Callisto in NC said:


> By "frozen in the field" did he mean on purpose or naturally because of the harsh weather we are having this year? Fresh produce should never be frozen in the field unless it's done by nature.


 Yes... adverse weather or a sudden cold snap or something.  I don't know where the asparagus I bought was grown.


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## Michael in FtW (Apr 13, 2009)

Callisto in NC said:


> By "frozen in the field" did he mean on purpose or naturally because of the harsh weather we are having this year? Fresh produce should never be frozen in the field unless it's done by nature.


 
I would have to assume that "frozen in the field" refers to an act of Mother Nature - same thing happens with citrus trees in Florida some times.

Vegetables destined for freezing are, in every instance I know of, harvested, quickly trucked to a processing facility where they are blanched and then frozen.


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## SharonT (Apr 13, 2009)

bethzaring said:


> That is the first thing I have read here that makes any sense. If it was frozen in the field, it would have turned a darker green than normal. Did you notice it being a dark green? Freezing definitely will make it cook faster than normal.


 
You know, I didn't notice it being darker before it was cooked, but it was uncommonly dark green after cooking... an uncommonly dark green, slimy mess.


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## bethzaring (Apr 13, 2009)

asparagus is prone to being frozen in the field.  Mine started growing about 3 weeks ago and for the past three nights we have had below freezing temperatures.  I covered my asparagus spears.  If I had not covered them, they would have frozen.


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## Callisto in NC (Apr 13, 2009)

SharonT said:


> Yes... adverse weather or a sudden cold snap or something.  I don't know where the asparagus I bought was grown.


With the weather we've had across the country, this would make sense that it happened but the grower didn't want to dump the crop.  We have gotten great runs of nice weather and then unexplained freezes since January.  It's got to be hard to grow in those conditions.


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## johnthecooker (Apr 15, 2009)

*Limp/soft asparagus*

I put the veg in a pot or fry pan in enough cold water to actually cook part of it in water and part in steam.  Cover, put on high heat and when the steam gets going out of the lidded pot, remove from the heat.  Can be held for a while without getting too soft.   We do like ours aldenti and we like it with home made garlic mayo.  Also make soup out of the cooking water, the broken off ends.  All cooked and then blended and strained, chicken or duck stock, a bit of rue, salt and pepper, nutmeg and cream.  More cut up asparagus in the soup if needed/wanted.


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## JohnL (Apr 15, 2009)

That's a great idea for the cooking water. I felt guilty the last time I dumped the water that I blanched asparagus in down the drain.


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