Q: What about thickness? Does it make a difference
in flavor?
Asparagus comes in all sizes, from slim pencil-wide
stalks to big fat ones as thick as your thumb, but
believe it or not, size has nothing to do with age.
Asparagus grows from an underground crown, from
which scores of stalks shoot forth. It takes about
three seasons for this crown to begin producing
edible stalks, and after that, it’ll continue to produce
stalks for at least a couple of decades. It’s the age
and variety of the crown that determines the
thickness of a stalk. A farmer can’t simply wait for a
thin stalk to grow into a thicker one—that won’t
happen until a few seasons later. While both can be
fantastic, I generally choose one size over the other
depending on how I’m going to cook it (or, more
likely, I choose my cooking method based on the size
of asparagus I happen to pick up at the farmers’
market).
- Spears about ⅓ inch thick or thinner tend to be
more intense in flavor and less watery. They’re
also a little bit tougher and snappier, due to their
higher ratio of fibrous skin to softer interior.
This makes them ideal for blanching and serving
hot or cold, stir-frying, or even just eating raw
as a snack. Higher-heat methods like broiling or
grilling tend to dry them out a little too much,
though if you like that charred asparagus flavor,
you might still consider cooking them with these