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Asparagus

A preserved asparagus dish made by blanching, brining, and sterilizing in a jar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Asparagus

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the asparagus

  1. Wash and scrape off scales and tough skin from the asparagus.

  2. Bind together enough asparagus for one jar with a string.

  3. Blanch the tough ends for 5 to 10 minutes, then turn to blanch the entire bundle for 5 minutes longer.

  4. Cold-dip the asparagus and remove the string.

Pack and seal

  1. Pack the asparagus in the jar with tip ends up.

  2. Add 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt and cover with boiling water.

  3. Put on a rubber top and adjust the top bail or screw top with your thumb and little finger.

  4. Sterilize in a hot-water bath for 120 minutes.

  5. Remove, complete the seal, and cool.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 main vegetable preserved whole in the jar, so its texture is what the process sets.

The step that matters

Blanching the tough ends and the whole bundle. Tough ends need longer heat than the tender tips to soften, so blanching in two timed stages keeps the tips from turning mushy while the stalks become tender enough to eat.

“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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