Food Gone Wild

Asparagus is a classic Spring delicacy. Crisp, elegant, alive with early flavor, asparagus is one of the first in-season vegetables to show up ready to eat after a long winter. 

There are many fascinating facts about asparagus -- that it takes 3 or more years after planting for the first harvest, that stalks can grow 10" in a single day, that it is 27% high-quality protein, or a good source of vitamins A, C and folate.

However asparagus season in the kitchen is past. One of the exciting things about this plant is what happens after the harvest. The stalks are allowed to grow into a small forest, producing the nutrients that it will need for a productive crop the next season. I visited Hackamatack Farm in Penobscot this week and got a good look at a thriving asparagus forest. Another food gone wild.