Asparagus food pictures, photos. Images. Stock photos & stock pictures gallery of Asparagus food photos. Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable. A flowering perennial plant species in the genus Asparagus in the lily family, like its allium cousins, onions and garlic. It is native to most of Europe, northern Africa and western Asia, and is widely cultivated as a vegetable crop.

Asparagus has been used from early times as a vegetable and medicine, owing to its delicate...
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Asparagus food pictures, photos. Images. Stock photos & stock pictures gallery of Asparagus food photos. Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable. A flowering perennial plant species in the genus Asparagus in the lily family, like its allium cousins, onions and garlic. It is native to most of Europe, northern Africa and western Asia, and is widely cultivated as a vegetable crop.

Asparagus has been used from early times as a vegetable and medicine, owing to its delicate flavour and diuretic properties. There is a recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest surviving book of recipes, Apicius's third century AD De re coquinaria, Book III. It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who ate it fresh when in season and dried the vegetable for use in winter. Asparagus is pictured on an Egyptian frieze dating to 3000 B.C. France's Louis XIV had special greenhouses built for growing it.
It lost its popularity in the Middle Ages but returned to favour in the seventeenth century.

Only young asparagus shoots are commonly eaten: once the buds start to open the shoots quickly turn woody and become strongly flavoured.

Asparagus is low in calories and is very low in sodium. It is also a good source of vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and zinc, and a very good source of dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese and selenium, as well as chromium, a trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells. The amino acid asparagine gets its name from asparagus, the asparagus plant being rich in this compound.

Asparagus is low in calories and is very low in sodium. It is also a good source of vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and zinc, and a very good source of dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese and selenium, as well as chromium, a trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells. The amino acid asparagine gets its name from asparagus, the asparagus plant being rich in this compound.

The shoots are prepared and served in a number of ways around the world, typically as an appetizer or vegetable side dish. In Asian-style cooking, asparagus is often stir-fried. Cantonese restaurants in the United States often serve asparagus stir-fried with chicken, shrimp, or beef, and also wrapped in bacon. Asparagus may also be quickly grilled over charcoal or hardwood embers. It is also used as an ingredient in some stews and soups. In the French style, it is often boiled or steamed and served with hollandaise sauce, melted butter or olive oil, Parmesan cheese or mayonnaise.

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