Asparagus
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the asparagus
Wash and scrape off scales and tough skin from the asparagus.
Bind together enough asparagus for one jar with a string.
Blanch the tough ends for 5 to 10 minutes, then turn to blanch the entire bundle for 5 minutes longer.
Cold-dip the asparagus and remove the string.
Pack and seal
Pack the asparagus in the jar with tip ends up.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt and cover with boiling water.
Put on a rubber top and adjust the top bail or screw top with your thumb and little finger.
Sterilize in a hot-water bath for 120 minutes.
Remove, complete the seal, and cool.
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
- Is the vegetable being preserved, so its texture and flavour are the whole point of the jar.
- Salt
- Seasons the asparagus and helps preserve it in the brine.
The step that matters
Blanch the tough ends first. The tough ends need longer in boiling water than the tender tips, so blanching them first, then the whole bundle, keeps the tips from turning mushy while the stalks soften.
“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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