[0 - 3] my parents grew asparagus at the edge of our yard.
[3 - 5] One day a new neighbor moved in next door
[5 - 7] and they checked property lines,
[7 - 10] and overnight our asparagus changed addresses.
[10 - 11] It was no longer ours.
[11 - 15] To get fresh asparagus I was forced into a life of crime,
[15 - 18] actually stealing it from my neighbor's gardens.
[18 - 20] That's how I feel about asparagus. Criminal.
[23 - 25] (light upbeat music) Asparagus is special.
[25 - 27] It's been revered as a vegetable since Roman times
[27 - 30] and it shows up in the oldest surviving book of recipes.
[30 - 33] Its large native range stretches east to west,
[33 - 35] from Spain to central China,
[35 - 36] and north to south from Siberia
[36 - 38] all the way down to Pakistan,
[38 - 40] but it has found adoptive homes across the globe.
[40 - 43] There are decades-old debates about which town
[43 - 46] or region owns the title of Asparagus Capital of the World.
[46 - 48] I've put my own kitchen into the running,
[48 - 51] but I haven't heard back from any officials just yet.
[51 - 54] Or really anyone at all, now that I think about it.
[54 - 55] Asparagus is a perennial,
[55 - 58] which means that it'll pop up every spring all on its own.
[58 - 60] If you start a patch in your garden,
[60 - 63] you can harvest asparagus every year for up to 20 years.
[63 - 66] That ratio of planting effort to harvest quantity
[66 - 67] is pretty unbeatable.
[67 - 69] If asparagus is grown in a region
[69 - 71] where it can produce throughout the year,
[71 - 73] it grows more spindly and less vigorous
[73 - 74] with each passing year.
[74 - 78] But in colder or drier climates, it gets a chance to rest.
[78 - 79] I can totally relate.
[79 - 82] I get so spindly if I don't get enough rest.
[82 - 84] Green asparagus is the perfect signal
[84 - 86] for the arrival of spring.
[86 - 87] But it's not the only color.
[87 - 90] You've also likely seen purple and white asparagus.
[90 - 93] Purple asparagus gets its color from anthocyanins,
[93 - 95] the same pigments that give us purple cabbage,
[95 - 96] purple grapes, and, well,
[96 - 99] pretty much any purple vegetable or fruit.
[99 - 100] It is a different variety than green,
[100 - 103] whereas white is the result of a different growing method.
[103 - 106] White asparagus is grown using a technique called blanching,
[106 - 108] where soil is mounded around the spears as they grow
[108 - 110] in order to block sunlight.
[110 - 113] That move limits photosynthesis, which keeps chlorophyll,
[113 - 115] more like bore-ophyll, from forming.
[115 - 118] White asparagus is particularly prized in France and Germany
[118 - 120] for its delicate flavor and tenderness.
[120 - 122] Beyond color, the biggest differences between spears
[122 - 125] at the supermarket is usually thickness.
[125 - 127] Some are skinny, skinny, pencil-thin,
[127 - 130] others are thick as sausages. What gives?
[130 - 133] The thickness of a spear has nothing to do with its age.
[133 - 135] That is, you can't leave a skinny spear in the ground longer
[135 - 137] and hope it turns into a thick spear.
[137 - 139] It is determined by two factors,
[139 - 142] the age of the entire plant, and its variety.
[142 - 143] So which size is preferable?
[143 - 145] Check out this experiment.
[145 - 147] We removed the woody bottom of fat and skinny spears
[147 - 150] and tasted them side by side, simply steamed.
[150 - 152] While both tasted sweet, nutty, and grassy,
[152 - 155] we expected the delicate-looking thin spears
[155 - 156] to be more tender,
[156 - 157] but they weren't.
[157 - 159] The thicker spears actually had better texture.
[159 - 162] The reason: the vegetable's fibrous exterior makes up
[162 - 164] a larger proportion in a skinnier spear.
[164 - 167] Okay, now it's time for the Great Asparagus Debate,
[167 - 169] snap versus cut.
[169 - 170] And also, what about peeling?
[170 - 173] As a kid, it was my job to snap the asparagus before dinner,
[173 - 176] and I just assumed you had to snap the asparagus.
[176 - 177] That's all we ever did.
[177 - 179] At Cooks Illustrated, we've tested this a number of times
[179 - 181] and come to a firm conclusion:
[181 - 185] snapping is wasteful and completely unreliable.
[185 - 186] Check out this experiment.
[186 - 188] Here is a bunch of asparagus.
[188 - 189] Now, depending on where I apply force,
[189 - 192] I can get them to snap pretty much anywhere I want.
[192 - 194] And even when I get the snapped part to be pretty small,
[194 - 195] there's still a really good chance
[195 - 198] that I'm losing perfectly good asparagus while doing so.
[198 - 200] Well, there is a better way, and that's using your knife.
[200 - 202] Cut an inch from the bottom of the spears
[202 - 204] and then check to see what remains
[204 - 206] is nice and moist-looking, like this.
[206 - 207] Then you can use your vegetable peeler
[207 - 210] to remove some of the fibrous skin, just like this.
[210 - 212] Snapping can result in a 50% weight loss,
[212 - 215] while cutting and peeling results in less than 30% loss.
[215 - 217] Okay, now to switch gears a little bit,
[217 - 220] I just have to talk about a certain aroma
[220 - 222] that is really unique to asparagus.
[222 - 224] I'm not talking about how it smells while you're cooking it,
[224 - 226] but more how it smells after you've eaten it.
[226 - 228] Know what I mean?
[228 - 230] The fascinating thing about this phenomenon
[230 - 233] is that it's been studied a few times since the 1950s,
[233 - 236] and it's still not fully understood.
[236 - 238] What we do know is that there are two traits involved.
[238 - 241] One trait determines whether you produce the smell or not,
[241 - 243] and the other determines whether or not you can smell it.
[243 - 244] So, in theory,
[244 - 247] the world breaks down into four types of humans,
[247 - 248] make and smell,
[248 - 250] make and can't smell,
[250 - 251] can't make but can smell,
[251 - 253] and can't make and also can't smell.
[253 - 255] Move over, Myers-Briggs,
[255 - 258] we've got a new way to bluntly categorize our fellow humans.
[258 - 259] Back to the grass at hand.
[259 - 261] Asparagus occupies the same space in my brain
[261 - 264] as things like artichokes and lobster,
[264 - 266] that is, food so innately delicious,
[266 - 268] all they need is to be simmered in water
[268 - 269] and then served up with butter.
[269 - 271] But asparagus doesn't demand special treatment.
[271 - 272] It's simple to prep,
[272 - 275] and shines equally bright in countless applications.
[275 - 277] Let's go to the kitchen and check some of them out.
[277 - 279] First up, raw.
[279 - 280] Asparagus is a salad star,
[280 - 282] as long as you know how to prep it.
[282 - 284] For this one, go with thicker spears,
[284 - 285] and then use your veg peeler
[285 - 287] to make thin, beautiful shavings.
[287 - 290] These shaved pieces add incredible waft and texture
[291 - 293] Then we just combine our lettuce, watercress,
[293 - 297] asparagus, prosciutto and pine nuts in a large bowl,
[297 - 298] and toss, toss, toss
[298 - 300] with our sherry vinegar vinaigrette.
[300 - 301] That is a thing of beauty.
[301 - 303] Next up, let's hit the grill.
[303 - 305] Again, we wanna go for thick spears,
[305 - 306] so they can hang on the grill
[306 - 308] for longer without over-cooking.
[308 - 310] Seasoning asparagus evenly can be kind of tricky,
[310 - 312] because salt just loves to bounce off the surface.
[312 - 316] One way to ensure even seasoning is to brine them.
[316 - 317] Just poke them all over with a fork
[317 - 320] and then drop them into a brine of four cups water
[320 - 321] and a half-a-cup of kosher salt.
[321 - 324] Let them soak for 45 minutes to an hour,
[324 - 326] then dry them and pop them on the grill.
[326 - 328] Mm, those smell so good as they char.
[328 - 329] We'll finish these off
[329 - 331] with a dollop of preserve lemon aioli
[331 - 333] and a sprinkle of sliced almonds.
[333 - 335] And I'm drooling.
[335 - 336] Finally, a cooking method
[336 - 340] that I bet you don't associate with asparagus. Braising.
[340 - 342] Everyone knows that crisp, tender, bright green asparagus
[344 - 346] What this recipe presupposes is,
[346 - 346] maybe it isn't?
[346 - 349] This recipe, by Cooks Illustrated Executive Editor,
[349 - 352] Keith Dresser, may make you question everything
[352 - 353] you know about asparagus cookery.
[353 - 357] After braising in a flavorful liquid for almost 15 minutes,
[357 - 358] the spears trade their hallmark crispness
[358 - 360] for a silky tenderness,
[360 - 363] and their grassy profile for a sweet, nutty flavor,
[363 - 365] and that bright green color for subdued greens.
[365 - 368] We are breaking all of the asparagus rules.
[368 - 369] And look at us, we're loving it!
[369 - 371] The key to this recipe is the prep.
[371 - 372] We'll cut off the bottom
[372 - 374] and then peel two-thirds of the way up the stalk.
[374 - 378] Asparagus skin is covered with an impermeable waxy cuticle
[378 - 380] that prevents water loss in the asparagus.
[380 - 381] Good for them,
[381 - 383] but it makes seasoning them really hard for us.
[383 - 384] Check out this experiment.
[384 - 386] We cooked peeled and unpeeled asparagus
[386 - 388] in water that was dyed dark blue.
[388 - 391] You can see how far it penetrates into the spears
[391 - 393] without their protective coating.
[393 - 395] Peeling and braising also leads to the most tender asparagus
[395 - 397] you've ever hand,
[397 - 398] and it's really simple to do.
[398 - 401] I'll add my asparagus to the skillet of water,
[401 - 402] broth, oil and salt.
[402 - 405] Then we just cover and simmer vigorously until very tender,
[405 - 406] about 10 minutes.
[406 - 407] Then we just remove the lid
[407 - 410] and continue to cook until the skillet's almost dry
[410 - 412] and the asparagus is beautifully glazed,
[412 - 413] just a few minutes longer.
[413 - 416] Finally, we gussy them up with a little bit of lemon zest,
[416 - 420] lemon juice and chives. (whistling)
[424 - 425] Well, I'm in love.
[425 - 428] Whether you like it raw, grilled or braised,
[428 - 430] or anything in between,
[430 - 433] this is definitely how to eat asparagus.
[435 - 437] Big thanks to my Mom and Dad
[437 - 439] for growing asparagus when I was a kid,
[439 - 441] and to all the scientists who dedicated some
[441 - 444] of their life's work to understanding asparagus smells.
[444 - 446] We have links to all of the incredible recipes
[446 - 448] that I showed you today below this video.
[448 - 450] While you're down there, hit like and subscribe.
[450 - 452] And when you get into the comments,
[452 - 453] you have to let me know,
[454 - 455] and do you cut?
[455 - 456] Also, do you peel?
[456 - 457] We'll see you next time.