14 Mistakes You're Making With Asparagus

Asparagus season stretches from spring into early summer. Whether it's in season or not, a lot of people say that they don't really care for asparagus, but in many cases, it's not the vegetable's fault — it's all about how the asparagus was prepared. 

Asparagus is all too easy to get wrong. The wrong temperature, the wrong length of time over a heat source, the wrong cooking method — all of these mistakes can all turn what should be a delectable side dish into a pile of limp, soggy, sad stalks. The unique flavor profile of asparagus is also a challenge, since its taste doesn't go with just anything, even if it's a pretty versatile veggie when you know your way around it.

So how do you achieve the perfect asparagus this season, whether you're serving it as part of an Easter brunch or alongside a simple weeknight meal? First and foremost, you need to read up on these top mistakes that you're very likely making with asparagus. These errors can originate from when you're first perusing asparagus options at the grocery store, and then persist all throughout the cooking process — but if you're aware of the following mistakes, you can easily avoid them. 

So you're in the produce aisle at the store, looking at the asparagus. Unless you buy asparagus pre-sorted in a sealed bag, you're likely looking at little bundles of stalks held together by a rubber band. But not every bundle of asparagus is the same. The stalks come in all sizes, from thin and itty-bitty to thick and rather large. Does it matter which type you buy? Absolutely. 

Buying the wrong size of asparagus is the very first mistake you can make in your quest for perfectly cooked asparagus. Pick your asparagus size based on your intended cooking method. If you're cooking the asparagus quickly over high heat, such as in a stir fry, you might go with a thinner asparagus. However, if you're cooking the asparagus more slowly — such as roasting it — opt for thicker asparagus. Try to get a bundle of asparagus that offers uniform thickness, too, rather than a mix of thin and thick stalks. 

Thanks to the conveniences of modern agriculture, you can find just about any vegetable or fruit in American grocery stores at any time of year. However, if you want the best asparagus, buy it when it's at peak freshness — from March through June — and preferably from a local source. 

Most of the asparagus that is commercially grown in the United States comes from California, Michigan, or Washington, but asparagus can grow on a smaller scale throughout most of the United States, except for the very coldest and hottest portions of the country. This means that you can likely find a local farmer growing asparagus in your neck of the woods. 

Beyond buying asparagus when it's in season, you should generally plan to buy asparagus on the same day that you're going to cook it, so you don't have to worry about special storage considerations. You certainly shouldn't just toss your asparagus into the produce drawer in the bottom of your fridge and forget about it. 

So, what are the correct and incorrect ways to store asparagus, no matter when or where you bought it? If you plan on using your asparagus soon (like the same day you buy it, or perhaps the next day), you can store it in your fridge. However, don't wash the asparagus fully before storing it. You can wrap the asparagus in a damp paper towel, and tuck it into a plastic bag — but make sure you don't get the asparagus actively wet.

On the other hand, if you aren't going to use your asparagus until later in the week, consider storing it in a rather unique way: in a jar of water, like a bouquet of flowers. For this method, you'll trim the bottom of the asparagus stalks, add some water to a jar, and then place the asparagus in the jar cut-side down with stalks standing straight up, and place the jar in the fridge. Just like flowers, the asparagus will absorb the moisture in the bottom of the jar, keeping the stalks in peak condition until you're ready to use them a few days later. Whichever way you store your asparagus, try not to leave it lingering in the fridge for more than five days. 

If you've ever tried to use canned or frozen asparagus in place of fresh asparagus, you likely didn't make that mistake twice. If you've yet to make this mistake for the first time ... well, let's just say you should take the advice of those who've come before you. While more convenient and sometimes more affordable than fresh asparagus, canned and frozen asparagus frequently provide a poor replacement for the fresh variety. The canning and freezing processes result in very soft, mushy asparagus — and, in some cases, noticeably stringy stalks.

If you absolutely must use canned or frozen asparagus, avoid using it in a recipe where the vegetable's texture will be noticeable. Definitely don't serve it on its own as a side dish, and don't incorporate it into dishes where you'd expect the asparagus to have a little crunch, such as in a salad or pasta recipe. Instead, restrict your use of canned and frozen asparagus to casseroles or soups. 

Like carrots and potatoes, asparagus comes in all sorts of colors — but these colors aren't just an aesthetically pleasing differentiator that can add a little vibrancy to your spread. Depending on the color of asparagus you choose, you may need to adjust your cooking methods.

Green asparagus is the most common option in the U.S., so most asparagus-cooking tips will apply to green asparagus. However, if you pick up a bundle of white asparagus, you'll find that some of those tips will not apply. White asparagus must be entirely peeled, because its outer layer is usually tough. Additionally, white asparagus must be cooked longer and to a greater level of doneness. While you want green asparagus to have a little snap to it, white asparagus should be cooked until it's completely tender, to counteract that additional toughness.

Meanwhile, purple asparagus is pretty similar to green asparagus. You can cook it briefly, though you will want to peel the lower portion of each stalk. 

While many home cooks may not even think to trim their asparagus, this is actually a really important part of the process, and a step you shouldn't skip. Trimming your asparagus just means cutting about an inch or so off the bottom of the stalk. The lower portion of the stalk can be woody and tough, which doesn't really make for great eating.

To know exactly where to trim your asparagus, look at the stalk and notice where the bright green begins to fade into light green. That's about where you should cut the asparagus. Some recommend that instead of trimming your asparagus with a knife, you should actually snap your asparagus instead. While this leaves you with asparagus stalks of uneven lengths, it does ensure that each stem is individually trimmed at the right spot. To snap your asparagus, test each stalk to see where it begins to naturally bend at the bottom, then give it a quick snap. The asparagus should separate at a point and leave you with the tender stalk in one hand and the woody end to discard in the other. 

After you trim or snap your asparagus, some will tell you to then take your vegetable peeler to the asparagus and peel off the outer layer, where all the little leafy points are. However, you don't really need to peel all your asparagus — neither every single stalk, nor each stalk end-to-end.

If you're working with thin asparagus, rather than thick asparagus or white asparagus, you don't really need to peel the asparagus at all. Thin asparagus doesn't really have an outer layer that's tough enough to be worth peeling. Even when you have thicker asparagus, you don't have to peel the entirety of each spear. Instead, lightly peel the asparagus stem downward from the midway point of the spear toward where you trimmed or snapped the asparagus. That's all you need to peel. There's no need to peel the upper part of each spear. However, if you're dealing with the notoriously thick and tough white asparagus, the recommendations differ, and you will want to peel each spear in its entirety. 

While you may think that asparagus requires a delicate cooking method in order to preserve the vegetable's texture without it turning slimy, you don't really need to treat this ingredient with kid gloves. Don't baby it by trying to cook it low and slow. Doing so can leave you with soggy, limp stalks.

The fact is, asparagus can handle high temperatures — and actually, it cooks best at high temperatures. If you choose to cook asparagus at a lower temperature, for a longer amount of time, the interior of your asparagus will cook before the exterior finishes properly, and that's what leaves you with the mushy asparagus that no one wants. So, for example, if you're roasting asparagus — one of the most popular cooking methods for the vegetable — don't think you need to pop it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or even lower. Instead, crank up the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Don't make the mistake of cooking your asparagus for too long, either, especially if you're correctly cooking the asparagus at a high heat level. Slow and low is out. Hot and fast is in. So, for example, if you're roasting asparagus at that recommended 425 degrees Fahrenheit, you'd only need to do so for 10 minutes or so.

To tell if your asparagus is done, take a look at the color. Perfectly cooked asparagus is a vibrant, springy green. Overcooked asparagus is a darker, avocado-like green. If it's turning pale, your asparagus is way overdone.

When it comes to overcooking asparagus, always err on the side of caution. When in doubt, take your asparagus off the heat sooner rather than later, because carryover cooking will continue to heat the asparagus for a few minutes longer. If you worry that the carryover cooking will result in overcooked asparagus, you can always transfer the asparagus directly from your cooking receptacle to an ice bath, to immediately stop the heating process. 

Is the idea of cooking asparagus to perfection stressing you out? Guess what — you don't even have to cook it if you don't want to. That's right. You can eat asparagus raw. In fact, you might even enjoy some different health benefits if you choose to eat your asparagus raw, as the uncooked stalks may contain more vitamin C than if you heat them up. (However, cooked asparagus is believed to boost the veggie's antioxidant content, so you can take your pick based on individual health needs.)

One reason you might choose not to eat raw asparagus is if you have troubles digesting raw vegetables in general. You can eat asparagus raw as part of a salad, if you trim and chop it, or you can even use a vegetable peeler to peel the entire stalk into long strips to make a veggie noodle — much like a zoodle, aka a zucchini noodle. 

If you definitely want cooked asparagus, but you just want a cooking method that's easy and straightforward, you can also try microwaving your asparagus. Steaming asparagus in the microwave produces a result very similar to blanched asparagus.

When you blanch asparagus, you bring a pot of salted water to a boil and then toss in trimmed asparagus, letting it cook for just a very short period of time, before plunging the asparagus into ice water. This process makes for asparagus that is often very nicely cooked (because this method utilizes high temps and short cooking times), and blanching as a whole generally makes vegetables and fruits of all kinds appear a little more vibrantly colored. 

However, if you don't want to bother with bringing a pot of water to boil and then preparing a bowl of chilled water for the ice bath, then microwaving will work just fine as a substitute. All you have to do is cover the asparagus with a moist paper towel on a microwavable plate, and nuke the stalks for three minutes, max. 

The best method for cooking asparagus is 2,000 years old, but it's still a timeless technique. Called the Apicius method, you'll have to try it for yourself to decide if you like it, but there's no arguing that this procedure makes for some very tender, evenly cooked asparagus that manages to remain firmly in not-mushy territory.

So what exactly is this technique? The Apicius is an ancient cookbook that encourages readers to cook their asparagus standing straight up, with the bottoms of the asparagus stalks in the water and the tips pointed out of the water. This process allows the boiling water to cook the tougher bottoms of the asparagus stalks, while the steam from the boiling water gently cooks the more delicate asparagus spears. 

Pretty ingenious, right? In modern times, you can replicate this process by placing asparagus standing upright in a clean, dry, glass jar — then lower the jar into boiling water only a few inches up the sides of the jar, and let the water boil for about 25 minutes. 

Yes, adding sugar to your asparagus sounds a little odd at first. Asparagus is a savory food, after all. While some vegetables make appearances in desserts (such as in a carrot cake recipe), asparagus is not one of them. However, adding sugar to your asparagus may just be the secret to great asparagus — particularly if you're preparing white asparagus.

As the trickiest asparagus variety to cook (as well as the most bitter asparagus variety), white asparagus is particularly prized in Germany, where many recipes call for adding a pinch of sugar to the simmering water when boiling asparagus. Turns out, just a little sugar is enough to help neutralize some of the natural bitter compounds in asparagus. (German recipes may also call for you to add some stale bread to the boiling water, to supposedly soak up the bitterness, but this hack is all about the sugar.) 

Yes, asparagus is delicious served cooked on its own, or as part of a salad raw. It's excellent served alongside baked salmon, and asparagus with hollandaise sauce completes a plate of eggs Benedict. However, get a little creative with asparagus, too. Once you perfect the cooking process, there are near-endless ways for you to incorporate this delicious, healthful veggie into your regular cooking routine.

Cook asparagus in an air fryer, for example. Marinated in a mix of Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, sesame seeds, garlic, and ginger, air-fried asparagus makes a unique side dish or snack with Asian flavor. Roast or sauté some asparagus and then add it to one of your favorite homemade pizzas. Make some asparagus soup, which spares you the hassle of worrying about its texture, because you'll be obliterating the asparagus in your blender. You can cook asparagus in just about any way — steamed, in the microwave, boiled, blanched, grilled, air-fried, pan-fried, sautéed, roasted, and baked — so don't limit your experience of this versatile veg.