# Asparagus raw?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 16, 2017, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553 "2017-04-16T12:03:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553/21 "2017-04-16T20:59:46Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> Did I actually insult you? I only commented on something you did, politely, without calling you names for it.
Chill out. I was making a joke. Anyway, I’m pretty sure I understand the context of the question that I originally posed.
---
### Author:  [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553/22 "2017-04-16T21:00:12Z")
A perfect way to deal with something like this is to blanch them. Just trim off the bottoms of the stalks like you normally would and boil them for about a minute-ish in lightly salted water. Immediately pour them through a colander and then transfer into a large bowl of ice water. This will arrest the cooking while they are still bright green and crisp, but they won’t be raw-textured. Then you can just refrigerate them until you’re ready to use them in a salad or other cold dish.
BTW, this is the perfect way to make the very best sauteed fresh green beans. Repeat the above process and when you’re ready to sautee the beans, put them into a med-hot skillet with whatever floats your boat (I’m fond of just a little butter, bacon fat, shallots, salt and pepper).
---
### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553/23 "2017-04-16T21:09:18Z")
I coat them in olive oil, salt and pepper and then grill them.
---
### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553/24 "2017-04-16T21:21:41Z")
> [@hajario](#):
>
> Chill out. I was making a joke. Anyway, I’m pretty sure I understand the context of the question that I originally posed.
My apologies, then. I completely missed that you weren’t serious about it.
---
### Author:  [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553/25 "2017-04-16T21:47:49Z")
> [@hajario](#):
>
> I coat them in olive oil, salt and pepper and then grill them.
Well yeah, that is how I prefer them…or marinate them in a freezer bag with a simple Italian salad dressing then grill them.
I was thinking more along the lines of “salad” as in the OP.
---
### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553/26 "2017-04-16T21:49:36Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#):
>
> A perfect way to deal with something like this is to blanch them. Just trim off the bottoms of the stalks like you normally would and boil them for about a minute-ish in lightly salted water. Immediately pour them through a colander and then transfer into a large bowl of ice water. This will arrest the cooking while they are still bright green and crisp, but they won’t be raw-textured. Then you can just refrigerate them until you’re ready to use them in a salad or other cold dish.
Thank you!
---
### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553/27 "2017-04-16T22:00:00Z")
Yeah, I’d blanch them.
---
### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553/28 "2017-04-16T22:20:46Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> My apologies, then. I completely missed that you weren’t serious about it.
No problem, Brother. We’re cool.
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#):
>
> Well yeah, that is how I prefer them…or marinate them in a freezer bag with a simple Italian salad dressing then grill them.
Ooh. That sounds good.
---
### Author:  [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553/29 "2017-04-16T23:59:02Z")
Fighting against too crisp or too limp asparagus since 1973!
Also **hajario** , that marinade trick makes the shiskebab world go around too, for any manner of veggies (I like to use yellow squash, halved large button mushrooms, chunked red onion, etc) AND as a marinade for the meat.
---
### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553/30 "2017-04-17T00:06:48Z")
I used to grow asparagus. Fresh, just picked, I often ate it raw, and it was delicious. But it got tough quickly after I picked it. I don’t care for yesterday’s asparagus raw – nor for raw store-bought asparagus.
---
### Author:  [@pabstist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pabstist)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2017, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553/31 "2017-04-17T02:29:17Z")
Fiddleheads need to be blanched.
> **[Bulletin #4198, Facts on Fiddleheads - Cooperative Extension Publications -...](https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/4198e/)**
>
> Ostrich fern fiddleheads are edible, and can be identified by the brown, papery scale-like covering on the uncoiled fern. Fiddleheads are approximately 1 inch in diameter, have a smooth fern stem (not fuzzy), and also a deep “U”-shaped groove on the...
That article doesn’t mention it, but blanching also gets rid of the nasty tasting tannins. The water is dark brown afterwards.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asparagus-raw/784553.md?page=1)