Asparagus, No. 1 Process
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the asparagus to remove dirt.
Soak the asparagus in cold water until crisp.
Scrape off the tough outer skin.
Sort the asparagus by diameter.
Cut off the ends of the asparagus.
Leave the tops at the right length for the can.
Wash the asparagus thoroughly in cold water.
Cook
Place the asparagus butt-down in a wire basket with a cover.
Prepare a boiling bath with ½ lb of salt in 12½ gallons of water.
Immerse the asparagus for 1/3 of its length.
Boil the asparagus for 3 to 5 minutes based on thickness.
Drop the asparagus so that 2/3 is covered.
Cook further.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Asparagus
- The main vegetable, which softens and turns tender-crisp as it cooks in the boiling bath.
The step that matters
Boil the asparagus for 3 to 5 minutes based on thickness.. Heat softens the asparagus cell walls, so thicker spears need more time while thin ones need less. Boiling too long breaks them down and leaves the texture soft and mushy.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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