Asparagus
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the asparagus
Select fresh, tender asparagus tips of uniform size and wash them.
Cut the tips to the right length for cans and scrape off the tough outer skin.
Tie the tips in bundles and blanch by immersing the lower ends in boiling water for 2 minutes. Immerse the entire tips for 1 to 2 minutes longer, then plunge into cold water.
Pack and process
Pack the tips neatly in jars, tips up.
Fill jars with brine made from 4 oz. salt and 1 gallon water.
Process pints in a hot-water bath for 1 hour on each of three successive days or in a steam-pressure canner for 30 minutes at 10 lbs. steam.
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 tips
- The main vegetable; blanching softens it so it packs and keeps its texture in the jar.
- Coarse sea salt
- Brine seasoning that flavors the asparagus and helps preserve it in the jar.
The step that matters
Processing time and method. Asparagus is a low-acid vegetable, so it must be heat-processed for the full stated time to kill harmful microorganisms. Shortening the hot-water bath or pressure time risks an unsafe, spoiled jar.
“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.
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.