SAVOUR Manitoba

54 SAVOUR MANITOBA | SPRING 24 Food Fight Asparagus 101 BY CHARLENE ADAM A recent controversy arose in the Savour Manitoba editorial room. Were we debating climate issues, government spending or potholes? No. Instead, we debated how to properly prepare asparagus. It's a common occurrence, for sure. But the question that had us ready to battle was this controversial query: Do you snap asparagus or slice it? The consensus is to snap. But there was a sole dissenter. Dissention stemmed from excess hours of viewing Martha Stewart's cooking videos. In one of her episodes, she explained that by snapping, you waste a lot of the vegetable. Slicing gave you control and afforded better use of the produce. Ever frugal — and curious — I did my own experiment. I chose two equal-sized spears of asparagus. I snapped one and sliced the other (one inch from its end). Then I boiled them together until they were fork tender. And there was a woody taste about 1.5 inches up the spear. This disappeared at the two-inch mark. When comparing the spears, this meant that I would have wasted an additional 1.5 inches of asparagus had it been snapped. Other thoughts came into play. Does cooking style make a difference? Would a broiled or barbecued asparagus have greater woody-end forgiveness ratios than boiling? What if you are using very slim asparagus where there is less time to grow woody ends to being with? Our team will be reaching out to chefs and other experts for their opinions. Apparently, my sophomoric two-spear experiment was not enough to bring snappers over to the sliced side. They need expertise. In the meantime, you are welcome to jump into this important debate. Join the food fight! Add your two cents' worth on the Savour Manitoba website or on our social media pages under "First food fight." Results will be in the July issue and on our website. savourmanitoba.ca TO SNAP OR SLICE? Savour Manitoba – Our first food fight

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