Seasonal Veggies: Artichoke and Asparagus

This post is part of Fight Back Friday, hosted by Food Renegade.

This is the first installment of an occasional series featuring seasonal foods available at your farmer’s market or grocer. I am starting with globe artichokes and asparagus, two wonderfully healthful and delicious veggies in season right now!

Globe Artichoke

The plant that provides the succulent head

Commercially, artichokes are grown in warm areas of the country, USDA zone 7 and above. Most artichokes you will find in a grocery store come from California. There are some newer varieties being developed for growing in colder climates. The plant can be grown from seed, divisions or root cuttings. It is related to the thistle and bears a large bluish-purple flower that is quite ornamental. They prefer rich, well-drained soil.

Look for compact, heavy heads with the leaves tightly closed. Don’t buy an artichoke with yellowed leaves, as this is a sign of age. At home, place them in a half-gallon of water to which a tablespoon of vinegar and a teaspoon of salt has been added, weight them down so they stay submerged leaf tops down in the water. After 5 minutes, they will be ready for a clear water rinse. Trim off the tough outer leaves, and snip off the thorns at the tops of most of the remaining leaves. Many people like to cut off the stem so the artichokes sit straight in a pan, but these stems are edible and taste just like the “heart.” Place the chokes, leaf up, in a pan with an inch of boiling water and steam, uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Covering the pan causes volatile acids in the choke to turn it brown. We serve artichokes with a simple dip of melted butter. Eat by pulling a leaf off, dip it in butter and slide it through your closed teeth to “scrape” off the meaty part near the base of the leaf.

Raw artichokes contain an enzyme that interferes with protein digestion, so always eat artichokes cooked. Artichokes contain cynarin, a chemical that sweetens the flavor of whatever food you eat next. Cynarin also increases bile flow to help you digest heavy meals or foods high in fat.

If you are planning to be tested in the next couple days for blood in your stool, don’t eat artichokes tonight! Artichokes contain a natural chemical that can indicate a false positive.

Asparagus

The tender herald of spring

Asparagus is planted in “crowns” in winter. The first stalks are thin and grasslike, but thicken later in the season. In my gardens, it usually takes about three years for asparagus to reach edible maturity. China, Mexico and Peru grow commercial asparagus worldwide. In the United States, California, Michigan and Washington lead asparagus production. Asparagus is one of the few crops that will grow in soil that has been salted, but don’t salt your garden as it will make the soil unusable for anything else! Asparagus and tomatoes make great companion plants as they repel each other’s insects.

Look for bright green stalks and purplish, tightly closed heads. Avoid stalks that are mushy, wilted or opened. At home, wash the asparagus by plunging it into water to which a little vinegar has been added and gently shaking underwater. Rinse with clear water. Bend the stalk gently and where it breaks is where the stalk should be trimmed for cooking. If you must save it for a later meal, wrap the asparagus in a damp paper towel and enclose both in a plastic bag. Don’t store asparagus at room temperature, as it will lose a large percentage of its vitamins in several hours.

We like to eat our asparagus in the French style, steamed with the lid off for five minutes in just a tad of salted water, then tossed with butter, sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan and broiled just until the cheese melts. Canned asparagus is disappointing in texture, flavor and nutritional profile. Wait for the fresh, in season item and you’ll be in for a treat. Cooking asparagus slowly or covered will make it turn brown. Adding just a touch of sea salt to the cooking water helps keep the asparagus firm.

Most canned “white” asparagus is only green asparagus that has been bleached white. There is a growing availability of true white asparagus, called spargel. Spargel is from the same plant as green asparagus, but grown sunlight-deprived under special ultraviolet light so it doesn’t develop chlorophyll. There is also a more uncommon purple variety that is lower in fiber and higher in natural sugars.

Asparagus is high in folic acid, an important nutrient for women of child-bearing age which helps prevent birth defects. It is also high in vitamin K, a vitamin that assists our bodies in blood clotting. If you are taking anticoagulants, you might not want to eat an excess of asparagus, although a normal side-dish sized portion on occasion will not likely cause trouble. If in doubt, please check with your doctor.

And finally, yes, asparagus can make your urine smell. There are healthy sulfur compounds in asparagus that cleanse the urinary tract as they pass through. Traditional medicine uses asparagus as a diuretic, anti-arthritic and anti-rheumatic agent. Asparagus is full of inulin, a specific type of fiber that feeds the good bacteria in our guts. If you are prone to gout or kidney problems, you might want to restrict this food. It contains purines, a naturally occurring substance that can break down during digestion into uric acid, a buildup of which can worsen gout and kidney stones.