Asparagus For Beginners: What Does Asparagus Taste Like And How Can You Cook It

With the start of a New Year people often make themselves promises about getting in shape and eating better, and what does eating better involves?

Vegetables.

Most people choose rather generic veggies, such as iceberg lettuce, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, spinach and the like which are good and can be incredibly delicious when cooked right but can get rather repetitive after a while.

When this happens people either drop their new year resolutions and stop eating vegetables altogether or they look for different veggies they can try and enjoy. Artichokes, cucumbers, kale, eggplant, edamame and asparagus, to name a few.

Of course, not everyone is willing to spend money and time cooking something they’ve never had before. At least not without having a good idea of how it will taste. So, with that in mind, we’ve decided to let you know how one of those less common vegetables taste so you can decide whether you want to try it or not.

Let’s get started with…

Asparagus has a very distinct flavor that’s hard to accurately describe.

It has a rather earthy taste that’s similar to broccoli but slightly more bitter and salty.. People have also compared it to green beans but with a stronger, much more noticeable flavor.

The thing about asparagus is that, much like mushrooms, it has the ability to absorb other flavors when cooked with different foods, which makes it a fantastic side dish for any kind of meal. Asparagus has many healthy benefits.

Perhaps a good way of giving you a good idea of what to expect when trying asparagus is to give you a small list of the kinds of food that go well with it.

​Foods That Go Well With Asparagus

And many more.

Asparagus has a strong flavor that goes well with salty foods and foods with discrete or rather plain flavors. Foods that will absorb the asparagus taste to give you a whole new experience.

So now that you have an idea of what asparagus tastes like and what kind of foods you can eat with it, let’s talk about the best ways of cooking asparagus.

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How to Cook Asparagus?

There are 5 main ways you can cook asparagus:

1. Blanching

Blanching asparagus involves tying them into bundles and boiling them for short amounts of time before plunging them in ice-cold water.

This will preserve the flavor while giving them a deliciously crunchy texture, all while making it easier to freeze or store in the fridge if you have leftovers.

See below video for How to Blanch Asparagus.

Check out our article about the best cast iron pans to help you cook your asparagus. We highly recommend this Calphalon cast-iron pan.

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2. Steaming

Just like blanching, steaming will preserve the asparagus taste but the texture will be slightly softer.

Place your asparagus spear on a steaming basket and cover. Let them cook for three to four minutes.

See below video for How To Steam Asparagus:

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3. Griddled

Heat up a pan and drizzle it with olive oil or other kinds of oil. Place your asparagus spears whole or chopped and cook until they’ve absorbed most of the oil.

This will gives them a whole different texture while infusing them with the flavor of the oil you used to cook, as well as any other ingredients you used (such as salt and pepper).

You can also cook them on this Cuisinart griddle. Check out our article about the best electric grills to learn more.

See below video for Griddled Asparagus and Tomato with Pecorino​ Recipe:

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4. Roasting

Roasting asparagus is a fantastic way of increasing this vegetable’s characteristic flavor.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a tray with baking paper. Lay your asparagus spears, drizzle them with olive oil and season. You can add garlic, onion, salt, pepper, lemon zest and just about anything you can think of.

Roast for 10 minutes in a roaster oven.

You can do this on a grill as well, so keep this in mind for your next barbeque.

See below video for Garlic Roasted Asparagus Recipe:

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5. Stir Frying

Asparagus can be frequently found in Asian cooking.

Chop your asparagus, heat up a wok and toss it in, stirring in a pan for about a minute until it’s cooked.

Remember to add it towards the end of the cooking process and never at the beginning.

Check out this amazing stir fry pan. See below video for Shrimp And Asparagus Stir-Fry Recipe (Under 300 Calories):

If none of those methods seem satisfactory to you or you simply don’t want to cook your asparagus, don’t worry. You can always eat this delicious vegetable raw.

Raw asparagus goes great with salads, feta cheese, green and black olives and more, making it perfect as a finger food for a fancy dinner of sorts.

You can also pickle it, if you’re into that sort of thing.

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Final Thought

As you can see, asparagus is a very versatile and practical vegetable that can be eaten raw or cooked. It goes well in a variety of ways and you can enjoy it as part of a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner.

If you haven’t tried it, go ahead and buy a bunch! Even if you turn out not to like it, we guarantee you someone in your family will.

Share with us your experience in the comment. Thanks for reading!!

Want to learn about other vegetables? Check out our article: What Does Taro Taste Like?