# I cut the tough, woody ends off the asparagus...in the store. Did I steal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 15, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544 "2010-03-15T15:34:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/61 "2010-03-15T22:23:31Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > How sure are you that the asparagus was sold by weight? All the stores around here sell it pre-bundled, at a set price per bundle. I think it was pretty clearly implied in **Gruntled** ’s OP: > [@Gruntled](#): > > Yesterday I was at the grocery store buying asparagus. It was expensive, and also the bunches they had consisted of long stalks with an excessive amount of the nearly-inedible, thick, tough, woody ends on. I would be paying a premium price for a product that I could only use about half of. If the asparagus was sold by the bunch, then **Gruntled** would have been paying the same “premium price” whether or not s/he cut off the ends, and I don’t think this question would have come up. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/62 "2010-03-15T22:23:34Z")
Well, that was…something. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/63 "2010-03-15T22:33:06Z")
Y’all are going to hell! ---
**Author:** ![focusonz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@focusonz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/focusonz)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/64 "2010-03-15T22:47:13Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > Y’all are going to hell! You are deluding yourself! Hell is not a place one goes to for acts! Hell a place that one creates by the acts! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/65 "2010-03-15T23:06:50Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > 46 .. no, 47 posts in (!) and no germophobes have yet chimed in all grossed-out by the thought of all these people grubbing around in the grape bins? 🙂 That is EXACTLY what I thought about the grapes, even before the stealing part. Covered with dirt, pesticides, mouse and bug cooties, and germs, yet you just grab them off the display and chow down like a snack handed you by your mommy? ICK! … How about huge heads of romaine lettuce sold by the pound? Is it OK to tear a few leaves off, put them in a plastic bag, weigh them on the scale and print out a price label? I don’t need a bushel of lettuce, and I know the store throws away tons of perfectly good lettuce anyway. I just take a few leaves from the outer part. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/66 "2010-03-15T23:12:07Z")
Jesus would eat the tough, woody parts and hand out the succulent stems to the poor. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/67 "2010-03-15T23:39:16Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I think it was pretty clearly implied in **Gruntled** ’s OP: > > If the asparagus was sold by the bunch, then **Gruntled** would have been paying the same “premium price” whether or not s/he cut off the ends, and I don’t think this question would have come up. That’s why I asked “how sure are you?” The OP might’ve assumed it was sold by weight, when in fact it wasn’t. I can’t think of any pre-bundled produce like that that’s sold by weight. Here, it’s all sold by the pre-made bundle. If it was by weight, you’d think they’d let you decide how much you want. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/68 "2010-03-15T23:44:57Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I can’t think of any pre-bundled produce like that that’s sold by weight. I’m pretty sure that I often see asparagus bunches sold by weight, and examples like [this store produce list](http://foodcoop.com/go.php?id=90) appear to confirm that: > [@](#): > > Asparagus-bunch, organic - Vegetable - $4.08 per pound - > > Asparagus. bunched - Vegetable - $1.65 per pound - I think I’ve seen pre-bagged grapes sold by the pound, too: I’ll check next time I’m at the supermarket. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/69 "2010-03-15T23:48:07Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I’m pretty sure that I often see asparagus bunches sold by weight, and examples like [this store produce list](http://foodcoop.com/go.php?id=90) appear to confirm that: > > I think I’ve seen pre-bagged grapes sold by the pound, too: I’ll check next time I’m at the supermarket. Wow, cool. Awesome. I don’t _really_ care . . . ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/70 "2010-03-15T23:54:22Z")
If you don’t _really_ care, then next time maybe you shouldn’t _really_ bring it up. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/71 "2010-03-15T23:59:57Z")
I asked if he could’ve made a simple mistake that would make this whole discussion irrelevant. I didn’t need the solution to the case of the Lindbergh baby. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/72 "2010-03-16T00:05:10Z")
**Kimstu** provided a counter-example and helpfully included a cite. No Lindbergh babies were harmed in the making of his post. Now, if we can get back to the discussion of who is and is not doomed to burn in the fiery pits of Hell, that would be great. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/73 "2010-03-16T00:19:06Z")
> [@focusonz](#): > > Hell is not a place one goes to for acts! Never [been to Rhode Island](http://www.clubratingz.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=107), I take it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/74 "2010-03-16T00:34:04Z")
Of course you stole. They offered asparagus with long woody ends for a particular price. You could have opted to buy them for that price or pass on them. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/75 "2010-03-16T00:51:16Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Nope. Cut and dried. You stole. straight larceny would not be the appropriate criminal charge here, since you aren’t actually taking away anything you didn’t secure ownership over. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/76 "2010-03-16T01:12:11Z")
No one seems to have pointed out that trimming asparagus wastes the ends; you should be peeling them instead. ([Here’s more tips](http://www.delish.com/cooking-shows/famous-chefs/pepin-asparagus-tips-video).) Whether you peel them in the store or not is up to you. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/77 "2010-03-16T01:22:54Z")
> [@Kearsen](#): > > For all intents and purposes, it shouldn’t matter how much the theft is. I get that. > I’ve told them that I ate a few before in the line, I’d happily pay for them. Telling them you ate some does nothing save soothe your own conscience. The checkout operator has no way of charging you for the produce you ate, whether you admit it or not. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/78 "2010-03-16T01:28:14Z")
If sold by the weight, then you stole. If sold by the bunch, you did not. But if sold by the bunch, why did you bother? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/79 "2010-03-16T01:30:35Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > You stole from yourself, - the best part of the asparagus. Next time, get out your peeler and peel the woody “skin” off before you steam it. The white part inside there is the sweetest bit. > . > [@panamajack](#): > > No one seems to have pointed out that trimming asparagus wastes the ends; you should be peeling them instead. ([Here’s more tips](http://www.delish.com/cooking-shows/famous-chefs/pepin-asparagus-tips-video).) > > Whether you peel them in the store or not is up to you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gruntled](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/34f0e0/32.png) [@Gruntled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gruntled)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544/80 "2010-03-16T17:18:18Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > How sure are you that the asparagus was sold by weight? Um, because I can read? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-the-tough-woody-ends-off-the-asparagus-in-the-store-did-i-steal/532544.md?page=5)