Foodies in for a treat as mild spring ushers in bumper asparagus season

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/apr/24/mild-spring-bumper-asparagus-season

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Dust down the steamer and practise a smooth hollandaise sauce: a combination of a fine, sunny summer last year, more planting by farmers and a warmer than average spring are promising a bumper crop of British asparagus this year.

Last week’s warm weather arrived just in time for the start of the two-month harvesting season, which traditionally starts on St George’s Day, and continued warm weather could boost crops by 20%, according to supermarket buyers. Marks & Spencer is expecting to sell 15% more British asparagus this year.

Morrisons asparagus buyer David Bartle said: “Growing conditions look like they are going to be perfect. The good weather will not only affect the amount of asparagus grown but also the quality of the crop. We could have the most exceptional year since 2007.”

This year’s crop will be boosted by a major expansion in the acreage devoted to the green spears. Since 2011 there has been a 24% rise in land devoted to asparagus production including a 2.5% rise this year alone.

Farmers have been encouraged to plant more amid surging demand for home grown produce. In the last 10 years UK demand for the upmarket vegetable has soared by 540% according to market research firm Kantar.

That growing taste for Asparagus has also spurred some British farmers to experiment with new varieties, which produce crops as early as February or in the autumn – offering an alternative to imports from Peru and elsewhere.

Asparagus takes three years to reach maturity and the quality of any year’s crop is partly influenced by the weather over the previous summer. British farmers harvest the green shoots between April and June and then leave plants to grow into ferns which build up energy in the root system to power the following year’s shoots.

“Last summer was very very good, we all enjoyed it and so did the fern. That’s nicely charged up the root system. The spears are coming up sweet and tender compared to other years.” said Chris Chinn of the UK’s biggest asparagus grower Cobrey Farms in the Wye Valley, which supplies Marks & Spencer and other major grocers.

Chinn has between 15% and 20% more acreage coming into production this year so expects a bigger crop but he said bumper yields were dependent on continued warm weather. Asparagus spears don’t pop up until the temperature hits 10 degrees and grow more strongly closer to 25 degrees.

“It’s going to be a good year but its always dependent on the weather and we don’t know what that’s going to be,” he said.

The Met Office is predicting that the UK is likely to enjoy above average temperatures between April and June but as we go into a cooler weekend a warm spring is not a certainty.

David Shepherd of Evesham Vale Growers in Worcestershire, who now has 250 acres devoted to asparagus from none a few years ago, said the crop was difficult to predict because it was so dependent on the weather. “On a sunny day it can grow at an alarming rate,” he said. “It can be like chasing chickens, trying to get enough people out into the field.”

Mark Diacono, the vegetable expert and former head of the garden team at River Cottage, said foodies were in for a treat if British farmers could reap a strong harvest.

“The difference between English asparagus and foreign is immeasurable. The fullness of flavour is all about time from the plot to the plate. Most of us have got used to the Peruvian pencils but that’s like squash whereas British asparagus is fresh juice.”

He said asparagus is best cooked on the griddle or steamed with a topping of boiled egg and chives. But he adds: “If you can get it fresh and tender then it’s amazing completely raw.”